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Rep. Charlie Rangel Refuses To Participate In His Own Ethics Hearing

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Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has just threatened to leave a hearing that is investigating charges that he violated House ethics rules, after first alleging that the House Ethics committee had denied his right to a lawyer. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), responded by stating “it troubles me” that Rep. Rangel had no counsel, before moving to discuss whether to postpone the hearing in executive session.

Writing for Talking Points Memo, Rachel Slajda reports:

Rangel parted ways from his lawyers last month. He told the committee today that they quit, not sure he could pay the already $2 million legal bills he had racked up over the committee’s two-year investigation. He also claimed the committee told him only two weeks ago that he could set up a legal defense fund to pay his lawyers, and that he didn’t have enough time to create such a fund and hire counsel.

“I’ve been a lawyer long enough to know it’s very, very unwise to represent yourself,” he told the committee.

He then announced that he would leave the hearing. Without counsel, that would mean he would put up no defense.

The committee is now meeting privately.

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  • Big Eddie

    Lawyer Charles Rangel wishes to disassociate himself from his disreputable client , Rep. Charlie Rangel .

  • timzank

    Ol’ Charlie may be at an impasse with his counsel of record, but are you seriously telling me there isn’t another grand-standing ambulance chaser available who wouldn’t jump at the chance to be on camera for a 20 hour hearing with national exposure?

    Chuck, for real players?

  • Probably NOT wrong

    I would be happy if this old fart would clear
    his throat before speaking!
    Damn he is annoying!

  • RobDavis

    timzank said:
    Ol’ Charlie may be at an impasse with his counsel of record, but are you seriously telling me there isn’t another grand-standing ambulance chaser available who wouldn’t jump at the chance to be on camera for a 20 hour hearing with national exposure?

    Chuck, for real players?

    Yeah, tactical move to not answer questions. Where’s Gloria when you need her?

  • timzank

    RobDavis said:
    Yeah, tactical move to not answer questions. Where’s Gloria when you need her?

    She’d be a natural for this case for sure.

  • BlackWidow

    This man needs to go. To much baggage. But then I guess I am jumping the gun before the man has been proven guilty.

  • RobDavis

    BlackWidow said:
    This man needs to go. To much baggage. But then I guess I am jumping the gun before the man has been proven guilty.

    You make a point about guilty before innocence. But I think his actions here speak louder. He clearly is running away from the questions. An innocent person should have no problem answering questions. IMO

  • BatBoy

    I suspect Charlie will resign from the house about an hour before his next ethics hearing…which he should be able to stretch it out until next year some time.

    He (Charlie) probably has a multi-million dollar deal he is working on….tax free of course!

    Only 722 Days left…..
    News Flash: Doug Schoen discusses an upcoming article he co-wrote with Pat Caddell that argues that President Obama shouldn’t run for another term.

    “My job as CCO (Chief Community Organizer) is over. I have changed America….My Way!

    “Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”

    In a speech to be delivered by Barack Obama on or before March 31, 2012, Original quote from LBJ’s, 3/31/68 speech to the nation!

  • TeaPartyPatriot

    Lying (lawyering) is EXPENSIVE, but the TRUTH is cheap. Clearly that’s why reprobate rangel needs another $1 MILLION (on top of the previous $2 MILLION) for his lawyers.

  • Alz

    This would be headline news if it was a Republican.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Mangan/100000213524770 David Mangan

    ““Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”

    I was on a bus in a Kalamazoo road stop on the way back from canvassing in Wisconsin for Gene McCarthy when I saw this come up on the TV screen in a Big Boy, if memory serves….

    The high point in my political life, up to that moment. The real high point would come in Chicago at the Convention when I was McCarthy National Staff and dropped fishbones and ashtrays on the Chicago cops 15 floors below me in the Hilton Hotel. They came up a few hours later with a shovel holding the fishbones and broken ashtrays—-I was locked in my hotel room and slept through the whole affair. You can read about it in Making of the President, 1968, pp. 308-309…!

  • CAconservative

    Charlie Rangle claims that accepting a pro-bono attorney would violate the House Rules because it could be considered a gift? Do we consider supplying “Public Defenders” for the indigent, a gift? Is Charley Rangle hiding behind a sophist legal interpretation of the term “gift”, trying to put the ethics committee on hold long enough, hoping that the committee will eventually give up the investigation? Where are all the Black groups who should be coming up with defense money for Rangle? Could it be the Black-groups know that giving money to Rangle’s defense would be nothing more than pouring it down a rat-hole? Rangle is an excellent example of why we need term limits!

  • Nahu Tuk

    I hope Rangel goes to the slam and I hope ALL crooked politicians soon follow. We the People deserve a better government than we have. It is up to us, however, to insist on it.

  • CosmosDan

    Rangel should have been pushed to resign or retire. You can’t gain credibility and trust covering for corruption.

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  • http://none pyrope

    timzank said:
    Ol’ Charlie may be at an impasse with his counsel of record, but are you seriously telling me there isn’t another grand-standing ambulance chaser available who wouldn’t jump at the chance to be on camera for a 20 hour hearing with national exposure? Chuck, for real players?

    I hear John Edwards is at liberty.

    Rangel claims to need time to raise money to hire a defense. Maybe if he sold his Dominican properties (bought with money scammed from lobbyists) he would have the cash. Or, maybe he could get a loan from William Jefferson.

    Nahu Tuk said:
    We the People deserve a better government than we have. It is up to us, however, to insist on it.

    You must be joking! If you think you’re going to pry the average lazy-assed American away from their favorite TV show long enough to get them to write a letter of protest to a Congressman or Senator, you HAVE to be joking. Americans won’t do crap about securing their freedom until they’ve lost it.

  • Black Window

    The HONORABLE Charles Rangel is my father. He can do no wrong. (Except that part about him abandoning Mom and me), but he had to go to Washington to fight those evil Republicans. I know he still loves us, I got a Christmas card from him one year.

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