Rankled Rangel: 'It May Not Be Pleasant Thursday'
NEW YORK (CBS) ― The pressure to make a deal with the House Ethics Committee before formal charges are unveiled Thursday may be taking its toll on Congressman Charles Rangel.
On Monday the Harlem Democrat was by turns both defiant and downcast.
CBS 2 HD witnessed the two faces of Rangel.
With constituents watching during a ceremony honoring Congressional Black Caucus scholarship winners Rep. Rangel put on quite a show of bravado on Monday. First, he defiantly swatted away CBS 2 HD's question about whether he's trying to settle the case to avoid an embarrassing public airing.
"What this means is that reporters have said why don't you resign, why don't you quit? And I have been saying why don't you wait and see what the facts are?" Rangel said.
And then there was our question about what he will say to the committee, when and if he has to explain away the ethics charges lodged against him.
"Marcia, you are such a professional. I don't want to see you do this publicly to yourself," Rangel said.
But with the press conference over, he dropped the tough guy act, telling CBS 2 HD how hard it's been to deal with the barrage of ethics questions, ranging from his four rent stabilized apartments, to the non-payment of taxes from a vacation condo to his use of congressional stationery to raise money for a school named after him.
"This is very traumatic experience for me and for my family and for my constituents. I can only hope that all the facts come out before my primary, before my general election." Rangel said.
"It's like a boil that's been building up for close to two years and it's gonna burst on Thursday. It may not be pleasant. It's painful to have to say 'no comment' when people are attacking the very reason that you exist."
Friends told CBS 2 HD Rangel is caught between the desire to publicly vindicate himself and protect his legacy, and the pressure from Democrats worried that a public trial will sink them in November.
CBS 2HD's Marcia Kramer contributed to this report.
