Charlie Rangel went on trial recently within the House of Representatives for ethics infractions. He was duly found accountable. He has been advised for censure, a forewarning just short of expulsion A censure carries an extreme stigma. If it is carried out, he will be the first in some time to receive a censure.
Making sure a censure happens for Rangel
Charlie Rangel (D-NY) went on trial recently. This was because he failed to pay taxes and solicited favors and donations improperly meaning he was charged with ethics violations. He didn't pay taxes on income and property when taking campaign contributions via improper channels . CBS reports that Rangel ran out of trial because he didn't have a lawyer which didn't stop him from getting convicted on Monday . He had plenty of time to secure counsel though . The House Ethics committee found Congressman Rangel guilty of 11 of the 13 counts against him . When Rangel had been being considered for punishment, he asked for "fairness and a drop of mercy" . The chief counsel for the House ethics committee, Blake Chisam, recommended that Rangel be censured, which Rangel has argued is excessive .
The next worse thing to expulsion as punishment
The worst consequence from Congress is a Congressional censure. Expulsion is the only thing worse than that. It is like a "scarlet letter" to get a censure. It is much worse than a reprimand. Any person who gets censured ends up becoming really well known. This is because it hardly ever really happens. Censure happened last to Gerry Studds and Daniel B. Crane. This is what Wikipedia reports. They were censured for their part in a 1983 sex scandal involving congressional pages . In 2009, James Traficant (D-OH) was released from prison after getting expelled in 2002 within the House .
Blow for Democrats
The Democrats are already seen pretty bad after the 2010 election results while Charlie Rangel is one of the longest serving Democrats within the House . This isn't doing anything good for him. He might only be Congressman for a little bit longer. It is sure that Rangel will be reprimanded whether he gets censure or not .
Citations
CBS News
cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/18/politics/main7067266.shtml
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censure_in_the_United_States#Representative_censures
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