Expel Rangel from Congress
On Election Day, voters sent a clear message to Washington politicians: No more corruption. No more secrecy. And no more backroom deals that enable shady politicians to remain in power. But did that message reach Congress?
If we are to look at what happened to Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) this week as a guide, the answer is “yes” and “no.”
At the beginning of the week, it looked like Rangel might finally get his comeuppance. On Tuesday, the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct (commonly known as the House Ethics Committee) convicted Rangel on a series of corruption charges that “brought discredit to the House.” As reported in The Hill and many other press outlets, Rangel was convicted by a House Ethics panel on 11 counts of violating ethics rules.
The convictions are serious and demonstrate a serial tendency on the part of Rangel to abuse his congressional office for personal gain. Judicial Watch and its supporters have been pushing the Ethics Committee to act for a long time, and it is satisfying to see some results.
You can read the official report from the House Ethics Committee here. The following is a summary of what the committee said Rangel did wrong:
And now… the rest of the story. …..
Harold
