House panel finds Rangel guilty of ethics violations

House panel finds Rangel guilty of ethics violations

www.cnn.com

Washington (CNN) -- A House ethics subcommittee found longtime Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel guilty Tuesday on multiple violations of House rules.

The subcommittee, according to California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the ethics committee chairwoman, found "clear and convincing" evidence of guilt on 11 of 12 counts, including failing to pay taxes on a home in the Dominican Republic, misuse of a rent-controlled apartment for political purposes and improper use of government mail service and letterhead.

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This is a very tough break today for longtime House of Representative Member Charlie Rangel of New York, as he is found guilty of ethics violations after a long inquiry.

While Rangel steadfastly protested some ‘poor’ judgment, evidently the Washington Law Firm he hired and paid over a million dollars to, most of thought it was very poor judgment after withdrawing their representation and leaving him high and dry yesterday, when the house panel ruled that they would grant no more extensions for Rangel to present another defense.

Rangel got so upset yesterday by that he stormed out of the hearing and today it looks like it is biting him on the proverbial behind.

Rangel was once upon a time a ‘favorite’ CNN Financial Analyst and Talk Show Host, Lou Dobbs.

Combating against things like the Real ID Act, and the wholesale exportation of jobs, Rangel was a fairly frequent guest on the Lou Dobbs show.

Dobbs, who wrote a book about the exportation of American Jobs and the Best Government Money Could buy, clearly considered Rangel one of the last good guys fighting for the average American.

So it begs the questions are the ethic charges trumped up on Rangel, or was he truly abusing his post.

Former congressman Traficant from Ohio who spoke out on the Congressional Record about America’s little known state of Bankruptcy since the 1930’s soon found himself the target of the same Ethics Committee and eventually Federal Prosecutors.

Did Rangel go too far, and push the wrong buttons, or was he just another corrupt politician that Washington seems to be full of?

I wonder.


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reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


The outcome could not have been otherwise. The real test of justice within the ranks of the political careerists is the 'punishment' they feel inclined to give. On one hand there's the "debt" we are all asked to feel for his having served as a politician for a half-century. On the other hand there's the fact that 'serving' the people was never - ever - intended to be lifestyle, let alone one that entwines with personal conduct for personal convenience or gain.

The powers of this system are not those of the judicial branch. They may simply make a statement condemning his actions as imprudent and regrettable, they may censure him (although I doubt it.)

Sadly, the "political" is no arena in which we should expect to find 'justice' nor even a 'reckoning.'

Of all the abuses and criminality we know of within the ranks of the career political animal, Rangel's is less than shocking... but then, like churches, politicians reserve the 'privilege' of policing their own; so what does happen in the end will be driven by media.... we shall soon see.

reply to post by Maxmars


Some great assessments my friend. I agree that it's a tragically flawed system, I wish there was a good way to impose term limits and get the Lawyers out of Congress too. Having lawyers make our laws is probably the worst mistake we have made as a nation. The 600,000 codes they have created just really ensure for a lucrative profession for attorneys while destroying the quality of American life in the process.

It's a shame in the electronic age we really aren't pushing for a grass root movement to let us all vote on every issue and introduce our own.

This whole system is tragically antiquated, through the Internet we can all be heard in Washington and we don't really need one person to represent hundreds of thousands of us.

Of course they are afraid of true democracy and letting the average person have a real say.

I won't shed any tears for Rangel, but he seemed to be one of the better ones, when it came to at least giving lip service to the average American.

What a world.

Originally posted by ProtoplasmicTraveler
reply to post by Maxmars

 

It's a shame in the electronic age we really aren't pushing for a grass root movement to let us all vote on every issue and introduce our own.

What a world.

You have that right and the first thing on the agenda would be to throw all the bums out. You can always dream Proto, stranger things have happened.

As for Rangel he has finally got his, now for the rest of them.

reply to post by Aquarius1


We wouldn't need the bums, simple laws could be crafted and introduced by ordinary people and once they reached a certain level of online support then they could be brought up to a full vote.

The corporations would have no way to influence the process anymore. The powers that be would no longer have a way to control the process anymore.

We could even start reviewing the 600,000 laws on the books and start repealling the ones that serve no one in the general public.

We could return the actual Congress and the Senate to the people by making it a museum.

A brave new world of true democracy.

What really gets me is how he somehow thinks his 40 years seniority somehow should come into play when his punishment for ethics violations is handed down. WHAT?

This obviously explains why ethics don't come naturally to this guy

reply to post by HunkaHunka


That's the problem with life 'inside' the Beltway. Eventually they lose all touch with reality. That kind of disconnect is clearly a big part of the problem in the body politic. It's like he imagines he is working for the institution instead of working for his constiguents.

Thanks for posting.

Not really familiar with this case, and only have an 'outsider;s' idea of how the US political system works... but

I bet that in some office somewhere there is a filing cabinet (or computer database) containing a file on every member of the political system. Hundreds, thousands of files all full of past peccadillos, indiscretions, and ammunition with which to keep them all in line.

I also bet no one gets elected to any position of power unless there's enough material to add a file on them to that database.

To me it is the only thing that makes sense, considering the policies and choices made by successive administrations, going back decades.

In essence, toe the line or else ... Rangel may or may not deserve whatever crap he finds himself in, but something tells me he probably displeased a few people in order to find himself in said crap.

As always Proto, keep fighting the good fight

reply to post by Dagar


You just described the FBI Headquarters and the CIA Headquarters!

Yeah they keep files on them. The FBI gets the head start when they run for national office. The do the background check.

But it's the boys at Langley who manage to scoop up the real dirt.

Some believe that the CIA took over the White House right after the JFK Assissination and keep a minder in place there on the President's staff at all times.

John McCain accidentally let it slip out during the Presidential campaign when asked what he thought about the Kennedy Assisination his response was "Well that intervention was necessary!"

Information is power, and I doubt there is a person in government that they can't pull the plug on.

Great observation my wise friend.

Thanks for posting.