Possibly cornered Rep. Charlie Rangel dragged out negotiations over his pending ethics "trial" to the bitter end yesterday - leaving many fellow wardheelers irate.With a dramatic ethics panel meeting set to air charges against Rangel at 1 p.m. today, he was still trying to find a way last night to admit he did wrong, without saying he did it on purpose, sources said.
Rangel's mindset was so far removed from his increasingly worried colleagues' perspective that until recently he even dreamed of recapturing the Boodle Central chairmanship he was forced to give up last spring.
"If he were to be cleared, then it might have been possible, even in a lame duck session after the elections, to get it back," a source said, noting that Rangel always said giving up his gavel was temporary.
First in his mind is demonstrating that he did not deliberately cheat on taxes, hide assets or rent himself out for less than the going rate for donations to City College's planned Rangel Center, the source said.
The difficulty of exonerating himself finally hit home in recent days.
"It took him a while to realize that this [battle] was about remaining a member [of Congress]," said a House Democratic leadership source, "[and] to accept that he won't be the chairman again."
Rangel's friends maintain his biggest fear is that at 80, his remarkable career will end with a tarnished legacy if he admits he intentionally broke House rules.
He also believes some of the pressure comes from Democrats who want to prove they're better than Republicans at dealing with ethical lapses before the elections.
Sources said House Speaker Nancy (San Fran Nan) Pelosi is still in Rangel's corner emotionally, but wants him to cop a plea.
Pelosi's righthand man, Majority Leader Steny (I never said I was gonna drain the swamp!) Hoyer (D-Md.), sounded less patient, frostily telling reporters, "Mr. Rangel needs to do what he thinks is best."
A GOP source said that if there is a deal to avoid a trial "our guys [on the committee] are going to drive a hard bargain. They've lost patience. They're digging in their heels."
Some Democrats have called on him to resign, and privately, even some nominally in his corner can't understand how his case has been so drawn out, since charges emerged two years ago.
One New York House Democrat grumbled that Rangel has spent more than $1.5million on legal fees in a protracted battle that might fizzle out with an apology and a reprimand.
"A million-and-a-half just to say 'I'm sorry?' C'mon, I would've said I'm sorry two years ago," the member said with a laugh.
