The Rangel Circus is Coming to Washington
The circus is coming to Washington. Not the kind with elephants and ringmasters, but just when Capitol Hill journalists thought that business on the Hill would be light this fall as members focus on campaigning back home for reelection, news that there will be a public trial over Rep. Charles Rangel's (D-N.Y.) ethics problems changed the whole outlook for the rest of the year.
Rangel is one of the true characters on Capitol Hill. He's eighty-years old, wears expensive suits with loud, colorful ties and speaks with a gravelly New York accent fitting for the man who represents Harlem. He's served in Congress for almost forty years.
When Democrats took control of the House of Representative in 2006, Rangel became chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. In that role, he had a major hand in shaping the health care reform bill and oversaw the U.S. tax system. Rangel was at the height of his power.
But what Rangel describes as a "cloud that has been hanging over my head" emerged in July 2008 with reports that Rangel had used official Congressional stationary to fundraise for the "Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service" at the City College of New York. The center has long been labeled Rangel's "monument to me."
Then came news that Rangel had four rent-controlled apartments in New York, with one that may have been used as a campaign office. Next, it was discovered that Rangel failed to report $75,000 in rent money from a property he owns in the Dominican Republic.
New details later emerged that Rangel may have promised legislative action in exchange for a donation to that center for public service. And there was another matter. Rangel had to amend his financial disclosures in 2009 because he had failed to report more than $600,000 in income and assets.
The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, commonly known as the House ethics committee, opened investigations into all of these allegations, and more, at Rangel's own request. That was two years ago. The committee did admonish Rangel for another charge that he'd gone on a corporate paid retreat to the Caribbean. Rangel was forced to give up his chairmanship after that ruling, but the rest of the investigation dragged on.
Washington Unplugged: What's Next for Rangel?
That is until yesterday when the ethics committee announced that it had indicted Rangel for ethics violations and would now hold a public trial on Capitol Hill. The jury, made up of eight House members equally represented by House Democrats and Republicans, will announce multiple charges against Rangel at a public hearing next Thursday on Capitol Hill.
Aside from the charges being revealed, next Thursday's meeting is expected to be mostly administrative. The committee will map out how it will proceed with the trial. But the House also plans to leave for a six-week summer recess after next week.
That's why the cloud hanging over Rangel now has a small silver lining. The true circus won't start until after New York's September 14th primary. Rangel's facing numerous primary challengers this year and a hard ethics violation ruling now in advance of that primary could hurt the long-term incumbent.
"If you're going to ask for my personal political feeling," Rangel said yesterday after the indictment was announced, "this couldn't have happened at a better time for me, whatever it is, because it gives me an opportunity to respond to my friends and constituents that's been supporting me for close to 40 years."
Good for Charlie Rangel, but not for House Democrats facing tough reelections this fall that could result in a Republican takeover of the House. And Labor Day to November is always the crucial campaign time. House Democratic aides admit the timing is unfortunate. Democrats want to be out on the campaign trail talking about jobs and the economy. They don't want election 2010 to become about congressional ethics after Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to "drain the swamp" when she took the gavel in 2006 from ethics-beleaguered Republicans.
What Democrats must hope for is that the trial is quick. But one aide said the length of the trial completely depends on how many objections and procedural requests Rangel makes that would slow things down.
Talking to Rangel yesterday, the lawmaker did not sound like a man ready to give up the fight. When asked if he would testify, Rangel responded defiantly. "If I can't testify, I will" he said.
If Rangel is found guilty of ethics violations, the congressional jury will make a recommendation to the ethics committee as to whether to expel or censure Rangel. Then the committee will make its recommendation to the full House which would have to vote on Rangel's punishment.
