6 of 10 on ethics panel drop out of Waters case

WASHINGTON - Six of the 10 members of the House ethics committee say they'll no longer have a role in investigating Democrat Maxine Waters of California.

It's an extraordinary development, with the six lawmakers saying they're dropping out of the troubled case to erase any questions of bias or partiality.

Waters is under investigation on allegations that she tried to obtain federal aid for a minority-owned bank where her husband is an investor. She has denied wrongdoing.

After allegations arose that Republican members of the committee may have shown bias in the case, the panel took the unusual step of naming an outside attorney to investigate the lawmakers.

The ethics committee has 10 members, five from each party.

The five Republicans and the top Democrat have now withdrawn from the case.