The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (a.k.a. the Ethics Committee) announced today that it is investigating potential misconduct by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), but will defer its consideration of the matter until the U.S. Department of Justice concludes its investigation into the scandal over President Obama's former Senate seat. An indictment of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is still pending.

In a letter sent Friday to Ethics Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich requested the committee "defer further action" until the Blagojevich trial and "related investigations" are complete.

The Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics voted July 24 to recommend the Ethics Committee begin an investigation into Jackson and his efforts to secure Obama's Senate seat. The Board recommended the inquiry based on evidence that a Jackson "emissary" offered to raise money for Blagojevich in exchange for the Senate appointment and that "staff resources" in Jackson's D.C. and Chicago congressional offices were used to mount a "public campaign" for the appointment.

The committee is also investigating Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) for separate incidents. The committee did not identify the reasons for the Graves or Waters investigations, but Roll Call reports that Graves "invited his friend and neighbor Brooks Hurst to testify before a Congressional hearing on renewable fuels, without mentioning that his wife and Hurst are investors together in renewable fuels plants in Missouri." Waters was questioned in the media earlier this year for her role in securing OneUnited Bank $12 million in federal bailout funds.