The House ethics committee voted last week to establish an investigative subcommittee to look into the conduct of Bob Filner, D-Calif., who faces a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery after allegedly pushing a United Airlines baggage employee at Dulles Airport last month.
In a written statement Sept. 19, leaders of the ethics panel, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, said the new subcommittee will be chaired by Democrat Gene Green of Texas.
J. Gresham Barrett of South Carolina will serve as the ranking Republican. The other two members will be Democrat Joseph Crowley of New York and Republican Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida.
The ethics committee recommended that the subcommittee not take any action in the Filner case until the criminal proceedings in Loudoun County, Va., run their course. Filner is due to appear in court in early October.
Filner "allegedly attempted to enter an area authorized for airline employees only, pushed aside the employee's outstretched arm and refused to leave the area when asked by an airline employee," according to a statement from airport police.
Filner issued a written statement saying he regrets "that things turned out the way they did" at Dulles on Aug. 19. "This came about because I was frustrated by an unexplained airline delay," Filner said. "I respect the ethics committee's decision to wait until this matter is resolved in Virginia before proceeding."
Filner, now serving his eighth term, is known for his fiery temper -- a reputation that nearly cost him the chairmanship of the Veterans' Affairs Committee at the start of the 110th Congress. Critics cited his frequent fights with former Chairman Steve Buyer, R-Ind., and a profanity-laced tirade last year outside VA headquarters calling for Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson's resignation.
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