SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010
KLMNO POLITICS THE NATION & Timing of Rangel’s ethics trial has some Democrats worried by Paul Kane
and Carol D. Leonnig Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.)
hunkered down Friday as he pre- pared to stage a public battle over allegations that his financial dealings broke House ethics rules. His determination to fight the charges has left Democrats fearful that an ethics trial, planned for mid-September, could wind up tarnishing the whole party just weeks before the midterm elections. Rangel, 80, dismissed talk of
resignation, and Democratic leaders left Capitol Hill for the weekend without a clear path for resolving the case. As of Friday, no Democrat had called for the 40-year veteran to resign, but none had come to his defense. By late in the day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Ma- jority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D- Md.) had not spoken to Rangel about the issue, aides said. They made only tepid statements, not-
ing the “process is moving for- ward.” In private, Democratic aides and political strategists shook their heads at the prospect of a public reading of Rangel’s alleged misdeeds — first at a televised preliminary hearing set to begin Thursday and continuing with the ethics trial in September after Congress returns from a nearly seven-week recess. “The time has come for Charlie
Rangel to think more about his party than about himself. Each and every day that a trial goes on would cost Democrats more seats,” said a Democratic chief of staff to one of the dozens of in- cumbents who are facing difficult reelection campaigns. Like most Democratic staff and strategists, the aide requested anonymity be- cause of the political sensitivity of criticizing Rangel, who until his ethics woes had been a beloved figure in the Democratic caucus. Rangel displayed his usual con-
fidence at a hastily arranged news conference Friday in Har-
lem. “My lawyers are gonna kill me,” he joked, hinting that they would prefer he remain silent. He avoided the specifics of his case and vowed to fight on, saying the public airing of the charges next week would benefit him. “I’m in the kitchen and I’m not walking out,” said the former chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Com- mittee. The ethics
Rep. Charles B. Rangel, a New York Democrat.
committee announced Thursday that an investiga- tive subcom- mittee had found that Rangel broke unspecified congressional rules, and it
established a separate subcom- mittee to consider the case. It did not spell out what sanction he might face, although the options
could range from an admonish- ment to a more severe censure or even expulsion.
Since 2008 the investigative panel had probed whether he im- properly used his congressional office to raise money for a New York college wing named in his honor; violated city rules through his rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; failed to pay taxes on a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic; and failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal financial assets. A separate investigative panel reprimanded Rangel in February for accepting corporate- financed travel, a minor infrac- tion that was still serious enough to force him to surrender his chairmanship while the more se- rious investigation continued. Some Democrats privately ex- pressed irritation because a spec- tacle might have been avoided had Rangel reached a settlement with the leaders of the Commit- tee on Standards of Official Con- duct, as the panel is officially
DIGEST MASSACHUSETTS
Kerry berths yacht in R.I., saves $500,000
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is docking his family’s new $7 mil- lion yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid pay- ing roughly $500,000 in taxes to his cash-strapped home state. Rhode Island has become
something of a nautical tax haven since repealing its sales and an- nual excise taxes on boats in 1993. Kerry spokesman David Wade
said Friday that the boat is being kept at Newport Shipyard not to evade taxes but “for long-term maintenance, upkeep and char- ter purposes.” Wade noted the vessel was designed by Rhode Is- land boat designer Ted Fontaine and purchased in the state. It was built in New Zealand by Friend- ship Yachts. A Revenue Department
BEN STORY/ASSOCIATED PRESS BEAR TRAPPED
A bear climbed into an empty car in Larkspur, Colo., knocked the shifter into neutral and sent the vehicle rolling 125 feet into a thicket.
spokesman said Kerry would be liable for Massachusetts taxes if he berthed the boat in the Bay State — say, at Kerry’s summer vacation home on Nantucket or
in Boston Harbor near his city residence — within six months of its purchase. If the Isabel were brought to Massachusetts after that period, the state would have
to decide whether it wanted to pursue the taxes. The 76-foot sloop has two cab- ins, a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage, ac- cording to the Boston Herald, which first reported its Rhode Is- land berthing. The vessel is owned by Great Point, a limited liability corporation based in Pittsburgh, the longtime home of his wife, Teresa Heinz. — Associated Press
MICHIGAN
Hit man gets 52-year sentence in plea deal A killer-for-hire who admitted
that he murdered eight people and other victims he cannot re- member was sentenced Friday to at least 52 years in prison as part of a plea deal that kept him from a mandatory life term and spared his victims’ relatives from a series
of emotional trials. Vincent Smothers confessed to
the Detroit killings during a se- quence of sometimes-remorseful interviews with police in 2008. But there was no sign of contri- tion in court.
Smothers, 29, pleaded guilty to eight counts of second-degree murder in June. He said he was a hit man hired to kill people who crossed drug dealers. The only ex- ception was his last job, the fatal shooting of Rose Cobb, a Detroit police officer’s wife, in December 2007.
— Associated Press
Tea Party Express spokesman cuts ties: The Tea Party Express has accepted the resignation of its chief spokesman after he was widely condemned for satirizing the NAACP as an organization led by “Tom’s nephew” and “head colored person.” Conservative ra- dio personality Mark Williams
told the organization in a letter released Friday that he wanted to break ties with the group so “the media and our domestic en- emies” would move past the epi- sode. Williams resigned as chair- man of the group last month after the National Tea Party Federation expelled the Tea Party Express over one of his blog posts.
Medical plane crashes into Lake Michigan: A medical transport plane carrying five people to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota crashed into Lake Michigan on Friday, and one person was res- cued by a boater, officials said. The plane, which took off from Alma, Mich., went down a few miles off Ludington, a resort town on Michigan’s west coast, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Na- thaniel Parks said. A search for the other four people was under way.
— From news services
known. An accidentally leaked copy of the committee’s internal work from 2009 showed that, as far back as last July, Rangel’s at- torneys were discussing the pos- sibility of a “proffer,” a legal term for a defendant’s stipulating to certain facts.
But the chances of a settlement had grown bleak by June as Ran- gel — not his lawyers — repeated- ly refused to acknowledge some violations, according to sources familiar with the case. His lawyers filed procedural motions, which members consid- ered an effort to drag out the process.
One source familiar with the
negotiations in the ethics case said Rangel was willing to make a public apology. But the investiga- tive subcommittee’s members grew angry when Rangel told New York media that the commit- tee had found nothing wrong, sources said.
Republicans, meanwhile, are seeking to make the most of con- nections between Rangel and
Democratic candidates. The National Republican Sena- torial Committee targeted a handful of House Democrats run- ning for Senate seats, including Rep. Paul W. Hodes (D-N.H.), who has accepted $17,000 in dona- tions from Rangel’s political com- mittees. “Hodes is vying for a promo- tion to the U.S. Senate, and he has a responsibility to stand up for ethical standards and account- ability in Congress on behalf of the people of New Hampshire,” NRSC press secretary Amber Marchand said Friday. Hodes’s campaign did not re- spond to inquiries about Rangel. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), also running for the Senate, an- nounced he would donate the $12,000 he received from Rangel to charity. But he stopped short of calling for Rangel’s resignation. “In light of these serious charg- es, there must be a thorough and expeditious trial,” Ellsworth said.
kanep@washpost.com leonnigc@washpost.com
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