Rep. Charles Rangel's walked out on his ethics hearing before the House Ethics Adjudicatory Subcommittee on Capitol Hill on Monday. A trial will be held today by the House ethics committee to determine whether Rep. Charles Rangel has violated 13 ethics charges. The trial will begin at 9 a.m. ET. This ethic trial in the House is being held after eight years when in 2002 Rep. James Traficant, an Ohio Democrat, was tried and later expelled from Congress.
Earlier in March, due to the investigations, Rangel had to step down as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. But, early this month, he was re-elected to a Harlem-based district which Rangel represented since 1970. "All I can do is just ask for time to be heard," Rangel told a news agency. "I'm confident that at the end of the day, my constituents' faith in me, as demonstrated by their overwhelming vote, will be well-founded."
Rangel is being charged for improper solicitation of donations for a public center and library. The institution goes by the name Charles B. Rangel Center. Rangel is also charged on various account, including failure to report income and assets, non-payment of federal taxes on rental income from a Dominican Republic villa.
The main charge in question is the improper solicitation of donations for a public center and library bearing his name. However, Rangel dismissed the charge in writing stating that colleagues in both parties have also solicited corporate donors with interests before Congress for similar functions. He also cited examples of lawmakers who have solicited donations for charities and have not been punished. Among them include Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and the late Democratic senator Robert Byrd.
