 | Boy howdy, we never, ever saw this coming ... |
New York Congressman Charlie ("Y'got nuttin' on me, coppers!") Rangel has reportedly cut a deal to admit to ethical wrongdoing and avoid a potentially humiliating public trial.
| That assumes that Chollie can be humiliated further ... |
Oh, he will. Deals off, 13 charges released. Sorry, Charlie.
Harlem friends of Rangel tell CBS 2 they have been told that the details could be unveiled when the House Ethics Committee (think of a nudibranch pretending to be a vertebrate) meets Thursday afternoon.
"Sixty years ago I survived a Chinese attack in North Korea and as a result I wrote a book saying that I hadn't had a bad day since," Rangel said. "Today I have to reassess that statement."
| Who's fault, Chollie? Chinese didn't make you take the money (or maybe they did, perhaps there's another ethics charge coming) ... |
In a sense, Thursday is Charlie Rangel's war. He is battling to preserve his legacy of 40 years of congressional service in the face of ethics charges that, at the very least, will subject him to a humiliating process of having to admit ethical wrong doing.
| Then again, it might be the high point of his 'legacy' as far as I can tell ... |
Just what he will admit to and how he will do it remains to be seen. The punishment remains to be seen as well, but sources tell CBS 2 that at the end of the day, Rangel is not expected to be thrown out of Congress and that he is expected to run for reelection to a 21st term.
| He'll be backslapping his pals in no time ... |
Earlier in the week, he told CBS 2's Marcia Kramer that he feels his constituents will forgive him for anything that happens in the midst of the scandal.
"I'm confident that I'm going to win reelection," he said.
| It's the kind of democracy we live in today ... |
It's the culmination of two years of scandal for the 20-term Democratic lawmaker.
At issue is whether the former head of the House Ways and Means committee will admit to any serious ethical wrongdoing. Rangel is being charged with misusing his office for fundraising, failure to disclose income, belated payment of taxes and possible help with a tax shelter for a company whose chief executive was a major donor. |