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Monday, November 15, 2010

postheadericon Rangel's ethics trial proceeds without him after he walks out

11:03 AM | เขียนโดย leonook | Edit Post

A House panel is continuing with the trial of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) despite his decision to walk out.
A House ethics panel is continuing with the public trial of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) despite Rangel's decision to walk out of the hearing.

The adjudicatory subcommittee charged with weighing the case for 13 counts of ethics violations announced its decision after considering a request by Rangel to delay the trial because he lacked counsel. Rangel said he could not afford to hire attorneys right away after incurring nearly $2 million in legal fees over the past two years.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, offered a motion to continue the trial after Rangel opened his remarks by pleading for a delay and complaining about the unfairness of proceeding with the trial while he lacks counsel.

Ethics committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said it is Rangel's "right not to participate in this matter, as mentioned earlier."

"No conclusion as to the facts of this matter can be draw by the fact that Rep. Rangel has chosen not to participate in this hearing," Lofgren said.

Rangel said he received a letter last week from the committee telling him that he could open a legal defense fund. If he were to do that, he argued, he could hire an attorney. 

House rules allow members of Congress to carry a running debt on their legal defense funds, so Rangel wouldn't necessarily need to raise the money before hiring a lawyer.

Ethics committee counsel Blake Chisam urged the committee to move forward. 

"It is time for you to vote," Chisam said. "Put simply, the record before you is the record."

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