Charlie Rangel was just convicted on 11 out of 13 counts. They don't know

[gateley]

what the recommendation for 'punishment' will be.

[slackmaster]

1. They'll "punish" him now to spare him from the shellacking he'd surely get in the next Congress

:argh:

[bigtree]

3. everyone in his district already knows about the charges

I doubt they'll change much of any of their support in response to what some legislators from outside NY decide.

[slackmaster]

5. They'd probably care if Rangel got expelled from the House

Which is unlikely in the present Congress IMO.

[bigtree]

6. yeah, not likely

. . . at all.

I'd really fight that one hard, myself, if they attempted it. Think about all of the republican miscreants they let ride.

[closeupready]

13. Yes, it probably doesn't matter, but why should it?

Corruption of both types (legal and illegal) is such an essential part of DC that this is meaningless, akin to Bill Clinton's "perjury" - about an extramarital affair, :eyes:

Good thing Congress doesn't have any war crimes to prosecute. :eyes:

[bigtree]

18. I don't see this as a 'corruption' case

Neither did most of his district's voters.

You're on to something, though, about the proportionality of the charges to the other more relevant malfeasance surrounding Congress's everyday decision-making and legislative chicanery. Hypocrites.

[closeupready]

24. Yes, one could almost say Congress, on this matter, is the Source of Hypocrisy.

n/t

[BlueCheese]

32. I don't know enough about this case...

... but I think while Clinton's case was lying to cover up an affair and part of an obvious witch hunt, this is supposedly about real corruption--trading cash for favors, or trading cash for the appearance of favors.

[bigtree]

2. too bad

Congress has left plenty of republicans uncharged and scott-free committing far more egregious crimes and ethical breaches than Rep. Rangel. He still has my support (and his district's as well).

[BlueCheese]

33. Like who?

I'm not being snarky--I genuinely don't know. Thanks.

[closeupready]

37. Do you really need specifics, though?

Just look at the acts of Congress over the last 20 years. People on both sides of the aisle engage wholesale in legal but ethically abominable behavior, such as, for example, holding financial stakes in concerns that profit from favorable legislation. Or the system of campaign finance and its impact on lawmaking. One need not make much effort at finding such obscenities; just wait a day or two, and pick up the paper, and voila, there's your next example.

[theoldman]

4. It will be a slap on the wrist because he has too many supporters.

[bigtree]

7. and, because the charges are petty

It's still murky whether he'd survive a real prosecution on the charges. I think he might. Otherwise, they'd just let the Justice Dept. follow through to prosecution. I've always found the congressional 'ethics' committees laughable. And the charges? Unreported income? A vote favoring a contributor? Heaven forbid!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Actually they are not petty. The key is that the "prosecutor" fully admitted that the violations

were out of sloppiness not ethical lapses. That means a mild slap on the wrist and a requirement to make things right. He won't get a chairmanship/minority lead position anytime soon either.

[msanthrope]

15. Failing to report 75 k in income isn't petty. Getting an interest-free mortgage isn't petty, either

I suspect Charlie Rangel may be facing more serious investigations in the future.

[bigtree]

17. intent matters greatly in this case

That will matter greatly in any decision to prosecute or investigate him further.

[Angry Dragon]

19. Having tax subsidized apartments, using some for campaign

offices is not petty, failure to declare income on taxes is not petty
Would you be able to slide on this??

[bigtree]

20. it still sounds petty to me

[Angry Dragon]

22. When the laws start applying to everyone

in the same fashion then I will look at them as petty.
He stole government money by the use of the apartments,
keep others from renting them.

Petty it is not.

[EFerrari]

26. I read 1 (one) rent controlled apartment.

Rent control doesn't involve any government money whatsoever.

Do you have different information?

[Angry Dragon]

29. Back when this was coing out

I read he had a total of four apartments.
Used some for himself and had others used as
campaign offices. Not sure of the breakdown.
Using apartments as offices was breaking the law.
He claimed his house in DC as principal residence
so renting apartment was illegal.

[closeupready]

25. As a factual reminder, Tim Geithner ALSO failed to declare income to the IRS.

Did he not? Thus, that charge alone is balderdash.

[Angry Dragon]

30. I would have not okayed geithner to have his job

I do not care if dem or repub, throw all the cheats out.

[Catherina]

31. +1 n/t

[closeupready]

34. okay - 100% agree on that.

n/t

[ejpoeta]

8. too bad they pick and choose who to go after. it sure seems that there are plent

of congress members who have ethics problems. now i am not saying rangel shouldn't get put on trial. anyone who is doing this kind of stuff needs to be addressed.

[Lil Missy]

9. He will be allowed to continue making a fool of himself. n/t

[JuniperLea]

10. Do you understand the charges? eom

[msanthrope]

11. Yes, that is OUR punishment.....

it's past time for him to retire.

[FLAprogressive]

12. Hopefully he gets his sorry ass kicked out and a Dem with integrity replaces him.

[BrklynLiberal]

16. R-A-I-L-R-O-A-D-E-D by the right. There are probably hundreds of House members who have done a

lot worse than Rangel...and the rest have done stuff just as bad.

He is just too damn liberal....and I believe he was targeted for that.

[JackRiddler]

21. He's not really "too damn liberal," but he's the man from Harlem.

Don't think that doesn't factor into the media play especially.

[BrklynLiberal]

23. I am sure you are right. That particular seat has been the focus of media

attention for decades.

I remember it was Charlie Rangel who first made the public suggestion during the Iraq War to re-institute the draft..it was a stance of principle of course, but it sure made some people really pissed off at him. I admired him then because he was trying to make EVERYONE have a stake in what was being done to us by sending our people and our treasure over there.

[EFerrari]

27. There seems to be one rule for the CBC and another for everyone else.

The charges against Maxine last summer were complete cr@p and likely pay back. It looks like Rangel did not report some income and he did use that apartment but the fuss is not proportional. When was the last time anybody looked at Isss or Boehner? If you keep a magnifying glass on someone, eventually you will find something.

[old mark]

28. Find a GOPer in congress who doesn't have his hand in the till up to the shoulder...

Rengel's transgressions are MINOR compared to those of the average congress person, no matter what party...they live to steal and lie.
This is just the GOP fucking with black Democrats, practicing for our President.

mark

[sabbat hunter]

35. well....

this situation with Rangel has been going on since before Obama was president so I eliminate that as a part of the potential equation.

Not to mention that the panel was made up of 4 democrats and 4 republicans.

Rangel screwed up and instead of self reporting himself to the ethics panel when these things were found out, he dragged it out for 2.5 years.

Now I do hope that the ethics panel goes after more corrupt congresspersons, but to say that this is a black/white thing or the GOP is to blame is a bit of a reach IMHO.

[haifa lootin]

36. Yeah but I've never felt very comfortable invoking the "they do it too" defense...

but that's just me...

:shrug: