Later, in an official statement, Rangel slammed the ethics subcommittee’s “unprecedented” decision, saying his due-process rights were violated because the panel ruled without him having legal representation.
“How can anyone have confidence in the decision of the ethics subcommittee when I was deprived of due-process rights, right to counsel and was not even in the room?” Rangel said. “I can only hope that the full committee will treat me more fairly, and take into account my entire 40 years of service to the Congress before making any decisions on sanction.”
Rangel also lamented the lack of a system to appeal the House ethics panel’s decision.
Poor Charlie. He couldn’t afford a defense. Although he wasn’t expelled, he had to give up his valuable House Chairmanship.
“The decision comes one day after the panel rejected an emotional plea by Rangel to delay the trial because he lacked counsel. Rangel’s team of attorneys told him in mid-October that they could no longer represent him, and Rangel said he could not afford to hire a replacement right away after incurring nearly $2 million in legal fees over the past two years.”