WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Represen-tative Charles Rangel deserves to expelled from Congress if the ethics charges against him are true, former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said yesterday.
“He did some things that look like they ought to get him thrown out of Congress. And if it turns out that he did them, he’s going to get thrown out,” Dean told “Fox News Sunday.”
Dean said, however, that Rangel “is owed a fair process” to fight it out. “If he wants to cut a deal (with prosecutors), that’s his business.”
The 80-year-old Democrat from New York, one of the most senior members of Congress, has denied any wrongdoing and says he welcomes the opportunity to clear himself.
Democrats fear if Rangel doesn’t cut a deal, his anticipated trial before a congressional panel in September will undermine their chances to retain control of the the House of Representatives in the November election.
“He needs to cut a deal or step down for the good of the party he loves,” a senior Democratic aide told Reuters, asking not to be identified by name.
The House ethics committee announced unspecified charges against Rangel on Thursday after a breakdown in negotiations with his lawyers. Talks have resumed, Democratic Party aides said. Charges are to be disclosed this week.
The ethics panel has been examining for nearly two years a number of allegations against Rangel, including that he failed to pay taxes on a villa and if he improperly used his office to solicit contributions to a college center named in his honor.
Possible settlement could include Rangel admitting to at least some charges in return for a public admonishment or censure rather than expulsion from Congress, Democratic aides said.
Pressure is expected to mount on Rangel today when House Democrats to return to work, aides said. While many would like to see him go, others caution against a rush to judgment.
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, appearing with Dean on “Fox News Sunday,” said: “Congressman Rangel has every right as an American citizen to defend himself. If he believes he’s genuinely innocent, he ought to fight.”
“If in fact, he believes and his attorneys believe he’s guilty, it is to his interest and the Democratic Party’s interest to cut a deal,” Gingrich said.
Rangel stepped down in March as chairman of the powerful House tax-writing committee after he was admonished in a separate case for taking corporate-sponsored trips in 2007 and 2008 in violation of House gift rules.
