Charlie Rangel found guilty of ethics violations, says he was 'deprived of due process'
Written by on November 16, 2010, 04:53 PM
Charlie Rangel claims he was "deprived of due process" after his conviction of breaking ethics.
WASHINGTON — Saying he was "deprived of due process," Rep. Charles Rangel, onceone of the most influential House members, was convicted today on 11counts of breaking ethics rules and now faces punishment.
After the conviction, Rangel said the committee's decision was wrong.
"How can anyone have confidence in the decision of the ethicssubcommittee when I was deprived of due process rights, right tocounsel and was not even in the room?" he said. "I can only hope thatthe full committee will treat me more fairly, and take into account myentire 40 years of service to the Congress before making any decisionson sanctions.
"I am disappointed by the unfortunate findingsof the ethics subcommittee. The Committee's actions are unprecedentedin view of the fact that they arrived at without rebuttal or counterevidence on my behalf."
An ethics panel of eight House peersdeliberated over two days before delivering a jarring blow to the20-term New York Democrat’s career.
Rangel was originally charged with 13 counts of financial and fundraising misconduct.
The conviction also was another setback for Democrats who lost control of the House to the GOP in the midterm elections.
"This unfair decision is the inevitable result of the Committee'sinsistence on moving forward despite the absence of any legalrepresentation on my behalf. The Committee elected to reject my appealfor additional time to secure new counsel and thus acted in violationof the basic constitutional right to counsel," said Rangel.
"The committee's findings are even more difficult to understand in viewof yesterday's declaration by the committee's chief counsel, BlakeChisam, that there was no evidence of corruption or personal gain inhis findings. From here forward, it is my hope that the full EthicsCommittee will take into consideration the opinion of its chief counselas well as the statement by Rep. Bobby Scott, a member of itsinvestigatory subcommittee who said that any failings in my conductwere the result of "good faith mistakes" and were caused by 'sloppy andcareless recordkeeping, but were not criminal or corrupt.'"
Rangel, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, is notexpected to resign. He is 80 years old and remains a dominant politicalfigure in New York’s famed Harlem neighborhood.
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