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House Ethics Committee

House Ethics Committee

Office Of Congressional Ethics Found Vern Buchanan Failed To Disclose 17 Corporate Positions


Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) failed to disclose income on his disclosure forms and didn't report 17 positions he held at various companies and organizations from 2007 through 2010, according to an Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) report released Monday.

The report was issued to the House Ethics Committee on Nov. 8 but disclosed publicly on Monday. The House Ethics Committee said in a statement that it had decided to "gather additional information necessary to complete its review."

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Vern Buchanan

Vern Buchanan

More Bad News For NRCC Finance Chair Vern Buchanan


Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it was extending its investigation into Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, who is also under a Justice Department probe for allegations he broke campaign finance laws.

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Topics: Federal Election Commission, House Ethics Committee, Vern Buchanan

Jean Schmidt

Watchdog Says Rep. Schmidt Lied To Ethics Investigators

An ethics watchdog group has filed a complaint with a House ethics office, accusing Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) of lying in an attempt to throw off a previous House ethics investigation into her failure to pay almost $500,000 in legal bills.

The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed its complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, a quasi-independent body charged with conducting preliminary reviews of allegations against lawmakers and furthering them on to the full Ethics Committee for further action. CREW also asked the FBI to investigate.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, House of Representatives , Jean Schmidt, Office of Congressional Ethics

Jesse Jackson Jr.

House Ethics Panel Resumes Inquiry Into Jesse Jackson, Jr.


Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL)

The Justice Department has withdrawn their request for a deferral in the ethics investigation of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D) and the House Ethics Committee has voted to end the hold on their probe, the panel announced Tuesday.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Jesse Jackson Jr., Rod Blagojevich

David Wu

Rep. Wu Says Won't Resign; Pelosi Calls For Ethics Investigation


Rep. David Wu (D-OR)

Rep. David Wu (D-OR) is resisting calls to resign following the revelation that he's been accused of an unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman who is the daughter of a high school friend and campaign donor, but an aide says he has decided not to seek reelection.

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Topics: David Wu, House Democrats, House Ethics Committee

Donald 'Buz' Lukens

The Unbelievable Career Of John Boehner's Congressional Predecessor


Donald "Buz" Lukens, former Ohio representative

Ever wanted to know who to thank for House Speaker John Boehner's congressional career? The late Ohio Republican Rep. Donald "Buz" Lukens was your man.

It was 1990. Lukens was in his second term in Congress. The year before, the 58-year-old congressman had been caught on a television network's hidden camera in a McDonald's restaurant speaking with the mother of a 16-year-old girl he was allegedly sleeping with.

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Topics: Corruption, Donald 'Buz' Lukens, Donald Lukens, FBI, GOP, House Ethics Committee, John Boehner

Ethics Panel

Conflicted Out? Bonner To Control $500K For Waters Special Prosecutor

Watchdogs are busy extolling the Ethics Committee decision earlier Wednesday to hire an outside counsel to investigate the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), as well as allegations that its own staff and members engaged in a pattern of prosecutorial abuse.

But a review of the special prosecutor's contract, obtained by TPM, raises new conflict-of-interest questions for the beleaguered ethics panel.

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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters

Ethics Hires Special Prosecutor For Waters' Case Amid Turmoil


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee has hired a special prosecutor to handle the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a two-year investigation that has become mired in allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and partisan maneuvering.

The panel announced the hire of Billy Martin, a partner at the Washington office of Dorsey & Whitney, in a lengthy statement Wednesday, which came in the wake of an unprecedented document leak airing the committee's dirty laundry in excruciating detail. It was a unanimous decision, the panel said.

The scores of Ethics Committee e-mails and memos, reported by Politico Monday with links to the documents, paint a picture of a committee consumed by partisan dysfunction and accusations of professional misconduct surrounding Waters' case.

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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Campaign Legal Center , Charlie Rangel, Democracy 21, Ethics, House Ethics Committee, House Ethics Leak, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Public Citizen, TARP, Taxpayer Dollars

Ethics

Watchdogs: Bonner Has To Go To Fix Broken House Ethics System


Reps. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Ethics watchdogs are calling on Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) to step down as chairman of the House Ethics Committee -- at least temporarily -- for his role in the ongoing turmoil over Rep. Maxine Waters' (D-CA) case.

"I think there needs to be an investigation into the whole matter, including Mr. Bonner's role and that Mr. Bonner should step aside during the course of that investigation," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told TPM Tuesday. "If Mr. Bonner is found to have broken the committee's rules, he should be sanctioned by the full House."

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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, John Boehner, Maxine Waters

Eric Massa

He's Baaaack. House Ethics Committee Votes To Continue Massa Case


Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

When Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) left Congress amid a cloud of charges that he inappropriately touched and sexually harassed a male staffer, most of his Democratic colleagues hoped the issue would fade away -- or at least disappear from public view.

But the House Ethics Committee announced Friday that it has voted to continue an investigation it began last year.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, House Democrats, House Ethics Committee, House of Representatives , John Boehner, Sexual harassment

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Ethics Committee Can't Sweep Turmoil Over Waters Case Under The Rug


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Ethics experts say the House still has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to its handling of the corruption case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) last fall, which resulted in partisan backbiting, deep mistrust between Republicans and Democrats on the panel and the suspension of the lead attorney and an assistant a week before the matter was set to go to public trial.

The ethics panel has been at a virtual standstill for eight months since its internal dissension exploded onto the headlines of political publications and the Washington Post in early December. On Friday the panel announced it was extending separate investigations into Reps. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Jean Schmidt (R-OH), and two aides, but a source said the committee was forced to continue those probes because it had yet to begin looking into the matters in earnest.

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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren

Anthony Weiner

Pelosi Officially Asks For Weiner Ethics Investigation


House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) officially requested an ethics investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-NY) extramarital sexual online relationships with six woman after he admitted sending lewd photos of himself in a chaotic news conference Monday.

In a terse letter sent Tuesday, Pelosi called for an Ethics Committee investigation "to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred." She first said she would call for an ethics probe Monday almost immediately after Weiner admitted to concocting an elaborate hacking tale to keep the online sexual encounters under wraps.

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Topics: Anthony Weiner, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Nancy Pelosi, Sexting

John Ensign

Ensign Still On The Ethics Hook After Resigning


Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Scandal-scarred Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) may have hoped resigning would keep quiet unsavory details and new charges surrounding his affair with a top staffer's wife, but he's not off the hook yet.

The Senate Ethics Committee issued a rare statement Friday signaling it would continue its investigation of Ensign's affair and steps he took to keep it quiet despite having formally resigned his Senate seat. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), the top Democrat and Republican on the panel respectively, said his resignation is "appropriate" and indicated they would wrap up work on the probe as soon as possible.

"The Senate Ethics Committee has worked diligently for nearly 22 months on this matter and will complete its work in a timely fashion," they said in the statement.

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Topics: Cynthia Hampton, Douglas Hampton, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, John Ensign, Office of Congressional Ethics, Senate Ethics Committee

Maxine Waters

Watchdogs To House Ethics Committee: What's Up With That Maxine Waters Case?


Reps. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)

A coalition of reform groups are calling on the House Ethics Committee to resume its work on the investigation of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). The ethics watchdogs said in a letter to House Ethics Chairman Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) and Linda Sanchez (D-CA) that they want the committee to let the public know more about the status of the case.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Maxine Waters

House Ethics Committee

Suspended Ethics Attorney Looks Elsewhere For Employment

One of the suspended attorneys in the middle of a brewing showdown between Republicans and Democrats on the House Ethics Committee is looking to jump ship and get out of the messy ethics battle altogether.

Morgan Kim, who served as deputy chief of staff of the panel in the last Congress and lead attorney on the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), has applied for the job of Broward County inspector general, according to a list of applicants compiled by the Sun-Sentinel.

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Topics: Blake Chisam, House Ethics Committee, House of Representatives , Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign

Ethics

Ethics Showdown Brewing Over Suspended Attorneys


Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)

A showdown is brewing between House Republicans and Democrats on the Ethics Committee over whether to reinstate two attorneys accused of bungling the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) three months ago.

The two lawyers, Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign, were still on the House payroll as of Jan. 31, as TPM reported in late February, and committee rules require the panel to approve all the staffers at the beginning of each Congress. A source spotted Kim in the Capitol complex Tuesday, adding to the intrigue.

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Topics: Blake Chisam, Cindy Morgan Kim, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Stacy Sovereign

Ethics

Mystery Surrounding House Ethics Committee Attorneys Continues

The House Ethics Committee attorneys accused of bungling the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) three months ago were still on the House payroll as of Jan. 31, as TPM reported late last week, and there are new questions about how they are managing to stick around.

House Ethics Committee rules clearly require the panel to approve all staffers at the beginning of each Congress.

"All staff members shall be appointed by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Committee," the rules state.

The vote shall occur at the first Committee of each Congress, according to the rules, and "as necessary" during the Congress.

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Topics: Blake Chisam, Democrats, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Republicans

House Ethics Leak

House Ethics Office Investigates Rep. Schmidt's Ties To Turkish-American Interest Group


Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

The Office of Congressional Ethics is looking into the legal assistance that Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) is allegedly receiving from a Turkish-American interest group, according to a report in Roll Call.

Bruce Fein, an attorney for Schmidt, told the Capitol Hill newspaper that he is responding to an OCE request but would not say whether or how Schmidt is paying for his legal services.

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Topics: Bruce Fein, House Ethics Committee, House Ethics Leak, Jean Schmidt, Turkey

Jo Bonner

GOP Ethics Chair: Ethics Office Would Take Info From A Tabloid

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) told a reporter for a newspaper in his home state that political realities kept House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) from shutting down the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which he said would begin an investigation "out of the National Enquirer."

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Maxine Waters, Office of Congressional Ethics, Stan Brand

Tom DeLay

House Ethics: Timing On Fundraisers, Financial Reform Was Coincidence


Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

The House Ethics Committee let three members of Congress skirt further ethics inquires on their cozy relationships with financial lobbyists because, in short, everybody does it.

But what about the timing of the fundraisers, some of which were held the day before the final Financial Reform Bill vote in December 2009? Top ethics officials in the House of Representatives say the timing of the events was just "happenstance."

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Topics: Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Joseph Crowley, Tom DeLay, Tom Price

Ethics

Ethics Committee: Wall Street Fundraisers Weren't As Bad As DeLay


Reps. John Campbell (R-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Tom Price (R-GA)

Nothing to see here, folks!

That's the takeaway of the House Ethics Committee's 616-page report on fundraisers targeting financial industry lobbyists held by members of the House around the time the legislative body was voting on an overhaul of financial regulation in December of 2009.

Despite the recommendations of the more independent Office of Congressional Ethics, the House Ethics Committee wouldn't be looking into whether events geared towards financial lobbyists held by three members of Congress had the appearance of impropriety.

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Topics: Ethics, House Ethics Committee, John Campbell, Joseph Crowley, Office of Congressional Ethics, Tom DeLay, Tom Price

House Ethics Committee

Direction Of Ethics Committee Unclear As GOP Takes Over House


Rep Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

Two months after House Ethics Committee lawyers Morgan Kim and Stacey Sovereign were suspended by former Chief Counsel Blake Chisam, their future in the office is still unclear.

It's also uncertain if newly appointed Ethics Committee Chairman Jo Bonner (R-AL) will be successful in his push to relaunch the investigation into alleged ethics violations by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

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Topics: Blake Chisam, Cindy Morgan Kim, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign, Zoe Lofgren

House Ethics Committee

Lofgren To Stay On At Ethics Committee For Now, But Wants Out


Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

The Hill reports today that Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will stay on as ranking member of the House ethics committee, but has made clear to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that she wants the position to be temporary.

Lofgren reportedly told Pelosi in no uncertain terms that she wants wants to be out by February. In the meantime, leadership must find someone else to be the panel's top Democrat.

Pelosi's office confirms that Lofgren's position on the committee is temporary.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Zoe Lofgren

Jo Bonner

Boehner Puts Bonner In Charge Of House Ethics Committee


Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the House ethics committee who reportedly ordered the Capitol Police to block the doors of the committee's offices for a week during a dispute over the handling of the ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), will serve as chairman of the House ethics committee in the 112th Congress.

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Topics: Blake Chisam, Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren

Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel Sets Up Legal Fund


Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is asking for donations of up to $5,000 to the Charles B. Rangel Legal Expense Trust to cover anticipated further legal costs stemming from allegations of ethics violations against him, Lynn Sweet reported.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Legal Fees

Ethics

With Ethics Committee In Turmoil, Waters Lawyer Says Case Should Be Dropped


Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) last month ordered the Capitol Police to block the doors of the ethics committee offices for a week during a partisan dispute over the handling of the ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Washington Post reported.

A Capitol Police officer guarded the door of the ethics committee offices during Thanksgiving week and about eight staffers were told not to come to work, sources told the Post last week. Reached by TPM, a spokesman in Bonner's office declined to comment. Lofgren's office referred all questions to the ethics committee, which has not offered comment.

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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign, Zoe Lofgren

House Ethics Committee

Waters Won't Push For Vote On Ethics Committee Investigation


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) announced on the House floor today that she will not push for a vote on her proposal to create a bipartisan task force to investigate the House ethics committee.

"Upon the advice of my colleagues whom I trust and admire, I am not pushing for a vote on this resolution today," she said this afternoon, according to her prepared remarks. "In doing so, however, I am requesting that the Committee set the record straight, on its own accord, in a bipartisan manner, with a joint statement signed by the Chair and Ranking Member, ... [the] circumstances of the events that led to the discipline of the two attorneys leading the case against me."

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Topics: Cindy Morgan Kim, Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Maxine Waters, Stacy Sovereign

Maxine Waters

Waters Demands A Report On Suspension Of Ethics Aides During Lame Duck


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), under investigation for alleged violations of House ethics rules, is demanding an investigation into two suspended House ethics committee aides, Roll Call reported.

Waters will introduce a privileged resolution today that would create a bipartisan task force to conduct the probe into the suspension of the two lawyers, her office confirmed to the newspaper.

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Topics: Cindy Morgan Kim, House Ethics Committee, Maxine Waters, Stacy Sovereign

Charles Rangel

Report: FEC Investigating Rangel For Legal Fees


Rep. Charlie Rangel

Trouble isn't over yet for Rep. Charlie Rangel.

The New York Post reports that the Federal Elections Commission is investigating a complaint made against Rangel, alleging that he illegally used PAC funds to pay lawyers defending him in a House ethics investigation.

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Topics: Campaign Contributions, Charles Rangel, FEC, House Ethics Committee

Maxine Waters

Waters Delivers Statement Excoriating Ethics Panel For Hearing Postponement


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), whose ethics hearing was scheduled to begin today before the House ethics committee postponed it indefinitely, delivered a statement in front of the room where the hearing would have taken place. As she has over the past several months, she excoriated the committee.

Waters called the panel's reason for delaying the hearing -- that new evidence could change the case -- "nothing more than an excuse."

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Topics: Charles Rangel, House Ethics Committee, Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters

The New Waters Evidence: Emails From Her Chief Of Staff


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

As TPM reported Friday, the House ethics committee has delayed the hearing of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and is sending the case back to investigation, citing new evidence in the case.

Waters, in response, released a scathing statement saying the decision all but proves that she is innocent and that the committee's case against her is weak. She also claimed that the new evidence in question is neither new nor damning.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters

Rep. Waters Ethics Hearing Postponed Due To New Evidence


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

On the heels of a censure recommendation for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), the House ethics committee today announced that the upcoming ethics hearing for Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is postponed indefinitely.

Unspecified new evidence has cropped up in the case, according to the committee, and the matter will go back to an investigative panel. The hearing had been set for Nov. 29.

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Topics: House Ethics Committee, Maxine Waters

Ethics

Ethics Panel Says House Should Censure Charlie Rangel

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) should be censured by the House of Representatives and pay back taxes for financial and fundraising misconduct, the House ethics committee recommended late Thursday.

The House of Representatives will likely consider the motion to censure the 20-term congressman after Thanksgiving, the Associated Press reported.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Nancy Pelosi

Charles Rangel

After Emotional Final Plea From Rangel, Ethics Panel Deliberates (VIDEO)

The House ethics committee is now deliberating in executive session on whether to recommend that the full House punish Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) for his 11 ethics violations, and how.

Before they left, Rangel made an emotional plea, choking up as he asked the members to protect his name from those who would call him a "crook."

"I don't know how much longer I have to live, but it will always be to try to help people and thank God for what he's given to me," Rangel said.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, Ethics, House Ethics Committee

Charlie Rangel

In Change Of Tone, Rangel Asks For Mercy


Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

In a dramatic change of tone -- compared to the bluster and indignation of the past week -- Rep. Charlie Rangel today asked for mercy from the House ethics committee, invoking his time in the military and his 40 years in the House.

"How can 40 witnesses, 30,000 pages of transcripts, over 550 exhibits measure against my forty years of service and commitment to this Body I love so much? I ask the Committee in reviewing the sanctions to take that into serious consideration, as well as the effects this ordeal has had on my wife, family and constituents," he said in a statement released this morning.

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, House Ethics Committee

Charles Rangel

What Happens When Congressmen Break The Rules?


Former Congressman James Traficant (D-OH)

The House ethics committee will likely decide today how Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) should be punished for committing 11 ethics violations. They could recommend a range of sanctions, from giving him a stern talking to all the way to kicking him out.

No one expects Rangel, a 40-year congressman who was just re-elected with 80 percent of the vote, to be expelled. He will, more likely, face reprimand or censure.

In order to give a little bit of context to whatever punishment is recommended for Rangel, we thought we'd show you how different congress members had earned each of the three main types of sanction: expulsion, censure and reprimand.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, Corruption, House Ethics Committee, Jim Traficant, Joe Wilson

Charles Rangel

The Daily Show: You're A Bad Man, Charlie Rangel (VIDEO)


Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart last night had some fun at Rep. Charles Rangel's (D-NY) expense, offering his analysis of some of the finer moments of the congressman's ethics hearing.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, House Ethics Committee, Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

Charlie Rangel

House Ethics Panel Calls It A Night Without Decision On Rangel


Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Eight members of the House Ethics Committee have packed it in for the night after meeting in executive session to discuss the alleged ethics violations against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY).

They will reconvene in executive session Tuesday morning, committee spokesman Sam Harvey told TPM. Harvey did not know whether the committee planned to meet at length again or simply issue a statement with their decision.

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, Ethics, House Ethics Committee

Charles Rangel

Ethics Lawyer Uses Rangel's Floor Speech As Evidence Against Him


Rep. Charlie Rangel

After Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) left his own ethics hearing today, the ethics committee's chief counsel -- who's the de-facto prosecutor in the case, as the New York Times puts it -- submitted almost 600 exhibits as evidence, including the lengthy floor speech Rangel made in his own defense in August.

In that speech, Rangel said he may have been "stupid" and "negligent," but never "corrupt." The chief counsel for the committee, Blake Chisam, argued that the speech was an admission that Rangel did the things he's accused of: filing inaccurate tax returns, improperly using a rent-controlled apartment and fund-raising for CCNY's Rangel Center.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, House Ethics Committee