The House Ethics Committee actually exists.  It ruled in the case against Rep. Bob Filner. Okay, the Committee didn't really do anything but issue a mild little reprimand.  So now that the House Ethics Committee is working, when can we expect action against Rep. Jefferson, Rep. Jerry Lewis. Rep. Doolittle, Rep. Renzi, Rep. Lamborn, Rep. Hastings, Rep. Wilson....???

The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, which established an investigative subcommittee earlier this fall to look into an incident between the congressman and an airline employee, ruled that Filner "demonstrated poor judgment" when he got into an altercation with a United employee at Dulles International Airport over the summer.

Filner entered a so-called Alford plea to trespassing in November, days before he was scheduled to appear before a Virginia judge, meaning he acknowledged the evidence against him without officially admitting his guilt. He also wrote a letter apologizing to the airline employee and paid a $100 fine.

In light of those actions, the House ethics panel refrained from any further action.

From the The Politico:

Rep. Bob Filner (D-Ca.), chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, admitted to a trespassing charge in state court today and was fined $100 after a run-in with a United Airlines employee at Dulles Airport, according to The Associated Press.

Filner agreed to accept what is known as a Alford plea, meaning he did not admit guilt in the case but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him. Filner was originally charged with assault and battery, and a trial was set to begin next week, but prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge to trespassing. Filner was fined $100.

On Aug. 19, Filner became involved in a dispute with a United employee following his attempt to enter an employees-only area of the airport, according to multiple news report. A United employee later filed a criminal complaint against the Virginia Democrat.

The House Ethics Committee is actually taking some action.  Under new House rules, the committee had to do something because Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) was arrested and charged with a crime:

The investigation was triggered by a new House ethics rule Democrats sponsored and passed in early June in the wake of Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) indictment on 16 counts of bribery and corruption. The rule requires the ethics committee to either empanel an investigative subcommittee or review the allegations and submit a report to the House describing its reasons for not doing so “not later than 30 days” after a member is indicted or charged with a crime.

According to Jones and Hastings’s statement, the Loudoun County court charged Filner with misdemeanor assault and battery “on or about August 20, 2007.” The incident allegedly took place Aug. 19.

Filner, who was on his way to Iraq at the time of the incident, has said he was tired and has called the charges “ridiculous.”