Rangel guilty of ethics violations

November 17, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON

A congressional panel Tuesday found Rep. Charles Rangel guilty of violating 11 House ethics rules, but the iconic New York Democrat is likely to escape the most serious punishment for his actions — expulsion from the House.

Instead, it’s expected that the once-powerful chairman of the Ways and Means Committee will be reprimanded or censured by his colleagues for ethics transgressions that include his failure to declare rental income from a Dominican villa, improper solicitation of donations on congressional letterhead and misuse of a rent-controlled apartment as a campaign office.

The finding seemed likely after Rangel, 80, walked out on the proceedings Monday, saying he hadn’t been given a chance to retain new lawyers. That allowed the ethics panel to presume that he was no longer contesting the facts underlying the allegations against him.

The panel, divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans, deliberated into Tuesday morning before announcing its decision.

“We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law,” said the ethics subcommittee’s chairwoman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. “And I believe we have accomplished that mission.”

The eight-member panel reached a unanimous conclusion on 10 of the 13 counts. In a statement, Rangel, a 20-term lawmaker from Harlem who recently played a key role in enacting the health-care overhaul, ripped the decision.

The full 10-member House ethics committee will recommend a punishment for Rangel.