Charlie Rangel Found Guilty on 11 Counts of Ethics Violations

A House ethics subcommittee has found Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) guilty on 11 counts of violating House rules "by clear and convincing evidence," Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chair of the House ethics committee, announced Tuesday.

Rangel was found guilty of breaking House rules related to reporting rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic, of using a rent-controlled apartment in New York for campaign activities, and rules against using congressional stationery to raise funds for a center at New York's City University to be built in his name.

After receiving news of the verdict, Rangel blasted the the findings "unfair" and "unfortunate."

"How can anyone have confidence in the decision of the Ethics Subcommittee when I was deprived of due process rights, right to counsel and was not even in the room?" he said. "I can only hope that the full Committee will treat me more fairly, and take into account my entire 40 years of service to the Congress before making any decisions on sanctions."

But Lofgren stood by her committee's verdict and the process they used to come to it. "This has been a difficult assignment, time-consuming and we have approached our duties diligently -- and that includes every member of this subcommittee," Lofgren said. "We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law, and I believe that we have accomplished that mission."

The top Republican on the subcommittee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), endorsed the committee's findings, but said the Rangel matter has broader implications for the entire House. "I'm hopeful as we move forward with this matter into the next phase, that at the end of the day we will be able to begin an era of transparency and accountability, a new era of ethics that will restore the credibility of this House," he said.

Rangel faced charges stemming from a 21-month investigation into accusations that he failed to pay rent-related taxes on his villa in the Dominican Republic; that he used a rent-controlled apartment in New York for campaign activities; and that he used congressional stationary to raise funds for a center at New York's City University to be built in his name.

The trial began Monday, more than two years after the congressman asked the Ethic Committee to investigate him following media reports about irregularities in his tax filings and personal financial disclosure reports to the House.

Although the congressman insisted he never knowingly violated House rules, he stepped down from his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year under pressure from fellow Democrats. After that, he defiantly kept a high profile on Capitol Hill and in his Harlem district, maintaining his innocence at every opportunity. He was re-elected to a 21st term on Nov. 2.

In an extraordinary speech on the House floor in August, Rangel held forth for more than half an hour to defend himself before going home to New York to campaign for re-election. He said then that there was "not one scintilla of evidence" to prove him guilty of the violations and demanded that the ethics committee publicly try him so he could answer the allegations.

But when the eight-member House panel began the hearing Monday, Rangel walked out of the proceedings, deeming them unfair and a violation of due process since he had no legal team representing him. Rangel explained that he had spent nearly $2 million in legal fees in the run-up to the trial and asked the committee to delay his hearing until he could find and raise more money to pay for more lawyers. The committee said no.

"The committee has deprived me of the fundamental right to counsel and has chosen to proceed as if it is fair and impartial and operating according to rules, when in reality they are depriving me of my rights," Rangel said in a statement after leaving the hearing.

Despite Rangel's absence, the committee's staff attorneys continued with their case against him, making an early motion to end the hearing with no further witnesses or evidence against Rangel. The committee granted that judgment and then went into closed executive session to debate each count against the congressman.

Now that Rangel has been found guilty, the full committee will meet to make a recommendation to the full House about punishment, which could range from reprimand to censure to expulsion.

Additional reporting by Kevin Brennan for Politics Daily.

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