Charles Rangel was found guilty by his colleagues in the House of Repesentatives of violating ethics rules — which would be huge news if it wasn’t likely to result in just a slap on the wrist.
Rangel was found guilty Tuesday “of 11 counts of ethical violations,” The New York Times said. The House committee ruled “that his failure to pay taxes, improper solicitation of fund-raising donations and failure to accurately report his personal income had brought dishonor on the House.”
House Ethics Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California, said the investigation was “difficult and time consuming” and that a punishment was likely to be announced this week. That punishment, however, is likely not to be very satisfying. Expulsion, one of the possible punishments, is unlikely, the Times reports, and Rangel “is more likely to face a letter of reprimand or a formal censure.”
I’m not advocating for expulsion, necessarily, but the fact that it is off the table — or appears to be off the table — is an indictment of a system that protects incumbency. And while the GOP has tried to make hay out of this, it is pretty clear from their own actions while in the majority that they would act no differently (the list of Republican miscreants is pretty long).
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