Rangel Denies Impeding Settlement of Ethics Charges

Rep. Charlie Rangel denied through his attorneys Sunday that he is at fault for failing to reach a settlement with a House ethics subcommittee over allegations that the New York Democrat violated House rules and federal laws. Negotiations are ongoing to avoid a public ethics trial this September, a statement said.

“Congressman Rangel is the one who initiated the investigation and has publicly acknowledged he made mistakes,” Zuckerman Spaeder lawyer Leslie Kiernan said in a statement Sunday. “He has made several good faith attempts to resolve this matter and remains hopeful that it will be resolved. Speculation that he is the impediment to an appropriate resolution of this matter is untrue.”

A subcommittee of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct charged Rangel on Thursday with 13 counts of wrongdoing, including allegations that he misused federal resources to solicit donations for a City College of New York center named in his honor, accepted a rent-stabilized apartment for his campaign office, failed to pay taxes on a Dominican Republic villa and filed inaccurate financial disclosure forms.

Read more: (Jennifer Yachnin, “Rangel Denies Impeding Settlement of Ethics Charges,” Roll Call, 08/01/2010)