Panel Mulls Rangel's Punishment
Politico reports:
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) is facing only scattered calls to resign following his stunning conviction by a special panel of the House ethics committee on 11 charges Tuesday. But that chorus may grow louder if his colleagues — especially Republicans — fail to see a harsh punishment imposed by the ethics committee.
The ethics committee will meet Thursday to consider punishment for Rangel, and most House insiders expect a formal reprimand or censure — with almost no chance of expulsion. Rangel will be permitted to address the ethics committee and full House regarding his punishment.
At this point, most of Rangel’s Democratic colleagues, including members of the New York delegation, believe he should stay put, despite the conviction and damage to his reputation and legacy. Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, ducked all questions about Rangel on Tuesday, clearly distracted by party battles over who was to blame for their wipeout on Election Day.
And top Republicans stayed out of the fight, saying this was a Democratic mess that the soon-to-be-minority party should clean up itself.
“Charlie Rangel [is] a friend — I supported him; his constituents want him,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters during a Capitol Hill visit. “Congress has got to do what it’s going to do. But Charlie Rangel did an awful lot for New York City, and we shouldn’t forget that.”
“It’s always sad when you have a friend and colleague like Charlie in that kind of situation,” said Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.). Serrano wouldn’t call on Rangel to step down from office, saying, “I won’t get into that; that’s his decision.”
Rangel is “an iconic figure for many African-Americans across this country, a true hero,” said Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who has faced ethics questions of his own related to the Rod Blagojevich scandal.
“But for his leadership over the last several decades in Congress, there would be no Barack Obama as president of the United States, and there would be no Jesse Jackson Jr. in the Congress of the United States. The unfortunate episode that has culminated in the House’s determination is a blemish on his career, but we must measure Charles Rangel by his years of service and his longevity, and by his earnestness and honesty, not by the shortcomings of this episode.”
