Perp Walk: House Panel Recommends Censure of Rep. Charlie Rangel

The House Ethics Committee recommended censure for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), the most serious punishment it can hand out short of expulsion. Rangel was found guilty of 11 ethics violations, including failing to pay taxes on rental property, failure to report personal income, and improper fund-raising.

It is a sad day for any of us that admire this 80-year old man. Much of his legacy is tarnished by this recommendation. It is a reminder to all of us that we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.

Rangel Found Guilty of Violating House Ethics

I'm very disappointed in Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). He allowed his arrogance, ego and pride to get in the way of his commonsense and ethics. As a result a House Ethics subcommittee was able to find him guilty of 11 ethics violations after a two-year investigation.


Rangel had been accused of 13 charges, including misusing rent-controlled apartments, using his office to solicit donations to an educational center and improperly filing taxes and financial statements. The committee found he had violated all but one charge; two of the counts were rolled into one in the final verdict.


The findings will be sent to the full committee, who will make a recommendation to the House regarding Rangel's punishment. The House ethics committee set a hearing for tomorrow on the appropriate punishment for Rangel, a Democrat who formerly wielded great influence as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Subcommittee chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) noted,

"We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law, and I believe we have accomplished that mission."

The last time this subcommittee held a trial like this was in 2002 against Rep. James Traficant (D-OH). Traficant was eventually kicked out of the House of Representatives. Nobody thinks that 80-year old Rangel will face similiar punishment. Possible sanctions include a House vote deploring his conduct, a fine and denial of certain privileges.

Rangel didn't to himself any favors when the subcommittee met earlier this week. He walked out of the 'courtroom' when the subcommittee lawyer acting as the matter's prosecutor spent just minutes cycling through the evidence against him. After playing video clips of a speech in which the Harlem Democrat admitted wrongdoing, the lawyer, Blake Chisam, called no witnesses, an apparent testament to the strength of the case against Rangel, who openly admitted on the House floor that he broke some rules.


There are some who say that Rangel didn't do anything more than others have done before.  African Americans have always known that we cannot get away with the same things that others get away with.  We still need to operate on the premise of doing twice as much to get half as far.


Rangel is learning the hard way that nobody is above the law. It is a sad way for this old lion to end his career.

Charles Rangel (D-NY) Introduces H.R.5741, Legislation to Bring Back the Military Draft (VIDEO)

Rep. Charles Rangel is again calling for a military draft to highlight the fact that relatively few families are bearing a disproportionate burden in fighting the nation’s wars.




It should be noted that the President cannot initiate a draft on his own. Congress would first have to pass legislation (both the House and Senate), and the President would have to sign the bill into law.

Rangel (D-NY) introduced a bill  to reinstate the draft. The bill would mandate military service for men and women between the ages of 18 and 42. Deferments would be allowed only for completion of high school up to the age of 20, and for reasons of health, conscience or religious belief. Recruits not needed by the military in any given year would be required to perform some national civilian service.

Rangel previously introduced similar legislation in 2003 and 2006.

Rangel said lawmakers who support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should require “all who enjoy the benefits of our democracy to contribute to the defense of the country.”

He was quoted in the past as follows:

"I dare anyone to try to convince me that this war is not being fought predominantly by tough, loyal, and patriotic young men and women from the barren hills and towns of rural and underprivileged neighborhoods in urban America where unemployment is high and opportunities are few. As we see who are the troops coming home wounded and killed, I challenge anyone to tell me that the wealthiest have not been excluded from that roll call."

I respect the point that Rangel is making. However, I disagree with the notion of a draft. The only legitimate reason to re-instate the draft is if America faces a crisis that requires more troops than the volunteer military can supply. President Obama is bringing our troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq. We have not reached the tipping point that requires a draft.

Another point that I'd like Rangel to consider is SUICIDES!  Does he know that the U.S. Army reported a record number of suicides in a single month among active duty?   In June, there were 32 soldiers who are believed to have committed suicide, and suicides "for the first half of the year are up 12 percent over 2009."  I suspect that the number of suicides would rise dramatically if the military were made up of people who were forced to serve via a military draft.

Villagers, what say u?

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) Should Resign

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), who has represented Harlem residents in congress since 1971, waited for many years to become chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. He finally achieved that remarkable career goal ... only to find himself embroiled in a heated ethical debate about his personal financial dealings.

Currently, the House ethics committee is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into Rangel's finances. The investigation, which began last year, was expanded to include amendments that Rangel made to his House financial disclosure statements in August. The amendments indicated that he had failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income and assets from 2002 through 2006.

Assets and sources of income that he omitted include a Merrill Lynch Global account valued at between $250,000 and $500,000, tens of thousands of dollars in municipal bonds and $30,000 to $100,000 in rent from a multi-family brownstone he owned.

He subsequently disclosed that he owed more than $10,000 in back taxes because he had failed to report more than $70,000 in rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic.

Rangel claims that the entire financial mess can be attributed to "sloppy bookkeeping".

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) weighed in this week. They wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in support of Rangle -- who is a founding member of the CBC. Part of the letter reads:

“Regrettably, the minority has repeatedly attempted to make an end-run around the bipartisan procedures for investigating possible ethics issues. These Republican attempts to presume guilt before an investigation has been completed violate the core American principle of the presumption of innocence. These attempts also will discourage members in the future from self-reporting any potential ethics issues, and will distract from the important work of the House to fix the economy, put Americans back to work, and improve access to health care.”

If that wasn’t clear enough, the group, chaired by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) added:

“Charlie Rangel’s work on these issues is critically important, and we are proud of the thoughtful leadership he provides to the House. He has our full support for his work as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means while a bipartisan ethics review is pending.”

My grandfather once told me that I should never try to get away with the same things that white folks get away with. Rep. Rangel is probably no worse than past chairs of the House and Ways Committee. At least one of them is serving time in a federal penitentiary. However, we expect more from our Black leaders.

Charles Rangel's "sloppy bookkeeping" makes him unsuitable for leadership of a committee responsible for national tax and financial policy. Rangel should stop depending on cronyism and friends in high places to stay in office.

Rangel should do the right thing. He should resign the chairmanship of the House and Ways Committee.

Help Override Bush Veto of SCHIP Legislation

Did you know that Rep. Charles Rangel sponsored the SCHIP legislation? Anyhow, President Bush used a veto on H.R. 976, the recently passed children's health insurance bill. The President objects to the $35 billion increase in the bill and has said that it represents a step towards universal government health care. Others have expressed concern that parents might drop out of private insurance plans and enroll their children in the government program instead.

Bottomline ... more uninsured children will have health insurance if congress overrides the Bush veto. The Senate passed the bill with 67 votes, enough to override the President's veto in that chamber. In the House of Representatives, however, the bill received about two dozen votes less than would be needed to override the veto.

Villagers are encouraged to click here to TAKE ACTION necessary to override Bush. I hope you will take a moment to do so...