House ethics committee clears Rep. Richardson of wrongdoing in California property foreclosure

House ethics committee clears California lawmaker

WASHINGTON — The House ethics committee cleared Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson of California of wrongdoing Thursday in the foreclosure of her Sacramento property, saying she did not receive preferential treatment from a lender.

The committee also cleared Richardson of ethics violations regarding her financial disclosure forms.

The panel had been investigating whether Richardson received preferential treatment from Washington Mutual Bank, and whether she failed to disclose property, income and liabilities on the disclosure forms.

The House Committee on Standard and Official Conduct said it voted unanimously to dismiss the seven-month review. The panel said it issued 14 subpoenas, interviewed seven witnesses and reviewed about 7,000 pages of documents.

The committee did, however, vote to refer a mortgage broker involved in the purchase of Richardson’s Sacramento property to the Justice Department for further review. The committee said the broker, Charles Thomas, admitted to “submitting fraudulent information” to Washington Mutual Bank without Richardson’s knowledge.

In a statement, Richardson said, “The committee’s bipartisan report confirms that I have at all times acted in accordance with my ethical duties as a member of Congress. I am thankful this is over and behind me.”

When the investigation was announced in October, Richardson said she had faced financial problems because of personal crises, including “a divorce, death in the family, unexpected job and living changes, and an erroneous property sale,” adding she had worked to resolve her finances.