Today was supposed to be the start of the ethics committee deliberations regarding the misconduct of 80 year-old Congressman, Charles Rangel of New York’s Harlem district.
"...and that's all I have to say..."
As you might suspect, there is always drama when talking of Representative Rangel and today proved no different as he abruptly announced that after 2 1/2 years of investigation he was “not prepared” to address the panel, had no legal representation and no money to hire counsel (hard to imagine with all of the real estate he could put as collateral); then he simply gathered his belongings and walked out of the meeting.
[Poignant side note: Rangel’s constituents in Harlem apparently don’t care about his misconduct, as they re-elected him to Congress for a 21st term with an 80% margin of the vote.]
The panel members, composed of 4 Dems and 4 GOPs were not impressed with Rangel’s wrangling and began their deliberations without the Congressman.
That’s a really slick trick of just walking out. No answering questions, no having to provide proof, nothing. Not a good defense, but an interesting tactic. I wonder if the average American could just walk out on a trial or Congressional hearing; my guess…not a chance in hell. Any one of us would have been arrested for being in contempt, but as of this posting, no action has been taken on Congressman Rangel.
The Drudge Report cites an AP report by Larry Margasak, stating “If the panel members decide Rangel violated any House rules, the full committee will hold a hearing on how he should be punished. The most likely sanction would be a House vote deploring his conduct.”
Shame on YOU
Whoa! Scare me! That’s punishment? Even an old fashion flogging would be better than a wagging finger!
Margasak continues his report stating, “Key charges portray Rangel as a veteran congressman who thought he could ignore rules on disclosing his assets, and improperly used official resources to raise money for a college center that was a monument to his career. Another allegation that caught the public’s eye was his failure to declare rental income to the IRS from a resort unit he owned in the Dominican Republic.”
So, now America waits to see if Rangel will be punished or if he will wrangle his way out of this mess.
xxx
Why It Matters 