Rangel « POWIP

18Nov/104

May be censure for Good Time Charlie!

At least that's what's being recommended:

The House ethics committee's chief counsel has recommended that Rep. Charles Rangel be censured in connection with a finding that he engaged in improper financial and fundraising conduct.

If Chisam's recommendation is carried out, this would be the most serious punishment, short of expulsion, which is highly unlikely. Chisam and Rangel argued their positions Thursday in a public hearing on sanctions held by the ethics committee.

A censure vote is a resolution disapproving a member's conduct. The lawmaker then is escorted to the front of the House chamber, known as the well, by the sergeant-at-arms. While standing before his colleagues, the speaker of the House then issues an oral rebuke.

So we'll see what happens. I'll be surprised if they don't move on this matter quickly, while there are still an overwhelming number of Democrats, a number of them invulberable lame-ducks to boot, who can vote to ratchet down his punishment. Who knows? It may actually end up being of a lesser severity than Joe "YOU LIE!" Wilson's.

Which, you know, would somehow befit The Most Ethical! Congress EVAR!11!1!

I mean, clearly, to hold Mr. Rangel in more contempt than Wilson would clearly be a miscarriage of justice, eh? Especially since Wilson clearly demonsrated his h8ting racism of the immaculate one. Wouldn't that make all who think that Rangel should be treated as any other person kind of a double-plus racist ! Indeed...

Especially since we know that some at the farm are simply more equal than others.

Rocketman

16Nov/103

Breaking: Rangel convicted of Ethics violations

As a follow up to Dan's post earlier this morning I present the following from the New York Post:

Harlem Rep. Charlie Rangel did break the rules and was convicted this morning of 11 of the 13 ethics violations leveled against him by a House panel.

The details regarding which counts he was guilty of and which he was not are sketchy right now, and we'll update our kind readers as they become available.

[UPDATE]: From The Hill :

The 13 counts stem from several House ethics violations, including improperly using his office to solicit donations for a school of public policy in his name at the City College of New York, using a residential apartment in Harlem for his campaign office, failing to report more than $600,000 on his financial disclosure report and failing to pay taxes on rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.

The full ethics panel will now convene a sanctions hearing to recommend a punishment. Serious sanctions — including formal reprimand, censure or expulsion — require a vote on the House floor. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote, while a reprimand, which Rangel refused to agree to in July, or a censure would need just a simple majority. The ethics panel could also impose a fine and diminish some of Rangel’s privileges.

Truthfully, I don't really see any serious sanctions coming, especially since the Democrat's meme about "draining the swamp" itself drained away long ago. My prediction? A reprimand in the well, and perhaps the loss of a prime parking place. They'll save the serious stuff for the less affable Congresswoman Waters who's actions may have directly benefitted her family. But I could be wrong there too, as she will most assuredly not only play the race card, but in the best Watergate fashion threaten to take folks down with her.

As Cap'n Lex reminds us:

It’s a shame, really: Although I can’t think of a single time I’ve agreed with Rangel on any political issue, the man worked his way out of dire economic straits in Harlem, earned a Bronze Star in the Korean War for leading his men away from a North Korean encirclement, and won a full scholarship to law school based on superior academic performance as an undergrad student. In his legal and political life, which spanned 20 terms in office, he broke significant color-based barriers in his day and paved the way for the further empowerment of distressed minorities. He led in many ways an admirable, even charmed life.

Indeed, it's a shame to tarnish such a record at the end of a noteworthy, even illustrious, career in public service.

Cap'n Ed has more too, in his post.