He rambled. He challenged. He even said death may come sooner than he’d like. But Rep. Charles Rangel’s 30-minute speech on the House floor today was the most detailed and passionate defense he’s offered since being engulfed in alleged ethics violations two years ago.
“If it is the judgment of people here, for whatever reason that I resign, then heck, have the ethics committee expedite this,” Rangel said. “Don’t leave me swinging in the wind until November.”
At times sympathetic and defiant, Mr. Rangel appeared to speak directly to his Democratic colleagues, many of whom face difficult general election challenges this November, telling them, “Hey, if I was you I may want me to go away too. I am not going away.”
He added, “I do want the dignity that the president has said. And the dignity is that even if you see fit to cause me to not be able to come back because you’re not going to do it in my district, but if there is some recommendation that I be expelled -- for me, for me, that would be dignity because it shows openly that the system isn’t working for me.”
Almost immediately after becoming the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in 2007, Rangel, 80, became ensnared in a series of ethics scandals. There were accusations he owned four rent-stabilized apartments, including one used as his campaign office. He is also accused of using congressional stationary to solicit contributions for a school to be named after him.
Later, it was revealed that rental property in the Dominican Republic had, for years, failed to appear on his financial disclosure forms and taxes on the income he earned from it were never paid.
As he meandered through his speech, Mr. Rangel tackled most of the accusations against him, as well as addressing the political turmoil his scandal has caused.
On the contributions he solicited, Mr. Rangel said the role he played was common.
“A lot of people have done that. Doesn’t mean it’s right. But the rules have changed, so there has to be a penalty for grabbing the wrong stationary and not doing the right thing,” he said. “It may be stupid. It may be negligent. But it’s not corrupt.”
Mr. Rangel also said there was no glory in helping the school to be named after him.
“This is a broken-down building that you have to run away from if someone is going to put your name on it,” he said.
On his apartments, Mr. Rangel said no rules were broken, but that he was guilty of failing to see the “appearance” of impropriety the situation could create.
“I have to admit that I wasn’t sensitive to anything because I never felt then that treated any differently than anybody else,” he said. “I plead guilty to not being sensitive.”
Mr. Ragnel, a decorated Korean War veteran, was more contrite when explaining his failure to properly account for income her earned from his rental villa in the Dominican Republic.
“There’s absolutely no excuse that’s there,” he said.
Most of his frustration was directed at the process which he’s undergone to clear his name.
“I can’t afford to be represented by counsel. Each and every day the expenses build up,” he said.
Mr. Rangel faulted the Ethics Committee for not moving swiftly enough to settle his case.
“There is no agenda,” Mr. Rangel said of the committee. “So, what they’re saying is that, well the Ethics Committee will be leaving for members to be able to work in their districts to get re-elected. And I’m having a primary that I have to wait until after my primary to find out when the Ethics Committee intends to have a hearing. And then that hearing comes, maybe, just before the general election.”
The speech was met with a standing ovation from some of the Democratic members on the House floor.