WASHINGTON — A special ethics panel has found New York Rep. Charles Rangel, former Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, guilty on 11 of 13 ethics charges, the panel announced Tuesday.
The eight-member adjudicatory panel of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct reached its decision after deliberating for roughly six hours following Monday’s public ethics trial.
Rangel, 80, walked out of the trial complaining that he had not been given enough time to find an attorney to represent him.
The full 10-member ethics committee must now weigh in on the decision and can recommend sanctions.
Rangel has been dogged for years by a number of issues, including his failure to report on federal tax returns rental income earned on a villa in the Dominican Republic and whether he received below-market rental rates on four apartments in New York City.
While the committee has the power to expel Rangel, congressional sources have said that a letter of reprimand or a formal censure is more likely.
In a statement, Rangel said he was disappointed the panel reached its decision without hearing a rebuttal or counter-evidence.
“How can anyone have confidence in the decision of the ethics subcommittee when I was deprived of due process rights, right to counsel and was not even in the room?” he said in the statement. “I can only hope that the full committee will treat me more fairly, and take into account my entire 40 years of service to the Congress before making any decisions on sanctions.”
