Rangel Charged With 13 Counts of Wrongdoing

A special ethics subcommittee on Thursday afternoon charged Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) with 13 counts of violating House rules and federal laws, including conduct reflecting discreditably on the chamber.

The allegations were outlined in a 40-page report, the product of a two-year probe by an investigative subcommittee of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

The adjudicatory panel held its first public meeting on the Rangel charges Thursday. It will now review the accusations and determine Rangel’s guilt or innocence. If the panel, composed of four Democrats and four Republicans from the House ethics committee, determines the New York lawmaker did violate House rules, it will then refer the matter to the full committee to vote on a punishment.

“The public office is a public trust,” said ethics Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who also leads the adjudicatory panel. “Our task is to determine whether Rep. Rangel’s conduct met that standard.”

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas,) the ranking member on the adjudicatory subcommittee, outlined the charges in his opening remarks, noting that if the allegations prove to be true, Rangel will have “violated multiple provisions of House rules and federal statutes.”

McCaul said Rangel is accused of violating House rules by soliciting foundations and corporations with business before the Ways and Means Committee, for which he then served as chairman, for donations to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York.

Rangel is also alleged to have misused his staff and official House resources for the same purpose.

Read more: (Jennifer Yachnin, “Rangel Charged With 13 Counts of Wrongdoing,” Roll Call, 07/29/2010)