Terrific. Oy vey.
Breaking news, apparently. And just what the Democrats need this fall. A trial involving a senior member of the House. And as an added bonus for Fox News: he's black!
A House ethics report charges that Rep. Charles Rangel, an iconic New York powerbroker, broke the chamber's rules by abusing his office for personal gain, raising the possibility that he could be punished by — or even expelled from — the House.
The panel's "statement of alleged violations" reports that there is "substantial reason to believe" that the 40-year House veteran violated a series of 13 ethics and federal regulations on public officials.
Talking Points Memo wonders whether Rangel still has an opportunity to plead this away, and I sure hope he does. The ranking Republican on the committee literally said that "that ship has sailed." Otherwise, it's a wee bit embarrassing to have to deal with this in the run-up to November. Of course, the alleged actions of Rangel do not reflect on any other member of the House, but that's not going to stop the RNC or RNCC attack ads. Thirteen charges!
Rep. Rangel has served America proudly and with great distinction since the Korean War. There is nothing he can do to lose his own seat, but I think it might be in the best interests of the Democratic party if he stepped aside. I think these charges are each relatively minor individually, but there are a lot of them, and taken as a whole, it's a big bowl of bad.
NYT:
"Sixty years ago, I survived a Chinese attack in North Korea and have said that I haven’t had a bad day since," Mr. Rangel said somberly [today]. "But after today, I may have to revise that statement."
Update: The Associated Press reports that Rangel has possibly reached a deal:
WASHINGTON — People familiar with the talks say representatives of New York Democrat Charles Rangel and lawyers for the House ethics committee have reached a plea deal in his ethics case. However, committee members have not agreed to the settlement.
It was not immediately clear how many of the 13 charges of ethical violations Rangel agreed to accept.
If true, if he decides to stay in the House, he will probably remain an albatross around the Congressional Dems' neck.