WASHINGTON (AP) - The House ethics committee’s chief counsel recommended Thursday that veteran Rep. Charles Rangel be censured for financial and fundraising misconduct as lawmakers neared closure on an embarrassing 2 1/2-year-long scandal.

Chief counsel Blake Chisam called for the punishment despite the veteran New York congressman’s plea, in a prepared statement in advance of the hearing, for “a drop of fairness and mercy.”

If Chisam’s recommendation is carried out, it would be the most serious punishment short of expulsion that could be meted out by the House. Chisam and Rangel argued their positions at a public hearing on sanctions, where the 80-year-old congressman acknowledged making mistakes in handling his finances and said he wasn’t there to “retry this case.”

He did say he wished the committee would weigh, in considering its vote on punishment, how the House had handled previous cases involving lawmakers who were enriched by activities they undertook that were judged to be in violation of the chamber’s rules.

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Ethics chief counsel recommends censure for Rangel

Censure? That’s it? That’s ALL Rangel is going to get?

censure – noun
1. strong or vehement expression of disapproval: The newspapers were unanimous in their censure of the tax proposal.

2. an official reprimand, as by a legislative body of one of its members.

That’s not even a slap on the wrist. And folks, this is what you get when the FOX guards the hen house. The FOX, in this case, being Rangel’s fellow Congress Critters.

The picture says it all.

That paper Rangel has in his hands? It’s mislabeled. It should read The U.S. Constitution. And we all know what Rangel is going to do with it once he gets to the ‘out house’. I just don’t believe reading it is on his agenda.

Censure? These ass-hats in Congress have wasted many hours of investigation and untold millions of TAX PAYER DOLLARS and all they can come up with is a censure?

Little Charlie: “LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa…”

Little Charlies Mother: “Now Charlie, be a dear and use your *indoor* voice…”

That is a censure.

A censure boils down to a correction, a verbal reprimand, and it equates to little more than saying nothing at all. It means Rangel is free to proceed with his shenanigans as a Member of Congress. It means that many of his fellow Congressmen are as crooked as is Rangel himself.

Rangel spoke calmly without notes as he faced the committee. He repeatedly denied he was corrupt or crooked, sparking a clash with Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

McCaul questioned whether Rangel’s conduct was, in fact, corrupt.

He noted that Rangel targeted donors for a college center named after him, people who had legislative issues that Rangel could influence in the Ways and Means Committee.

Rangel, McCaul added, didn’t pay taxes on his Dominican Republic villa for 17 years.

“Failure to pay taxes for 17 years. What is that?” McCaul asked. He noted that former Rep. James Traficant, who was expelled after a felony conviction, didn’t pay taxes for just two years.

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Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide’s two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers’ causes.

The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member’s district.

Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so “unknowingly” and would work with the foundation to “rectify the financial situation.”

Initially, she said, “I recognized the names when I saw them. And I knew that they had a need just like any other kid that would apply for one.” Had there been more “very worthy applicants in my district,” she added, “then I probably wouldn’t have given it” to the relatives.

Full Story Here:
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson violated rules, steered scholarships to relatives

I don’t like Eddie Bernice Johnson, and I know there are a few that are going to say, “Well that’s because TexasFred is a racist and a bigot.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

I don’t like crooked politics and I despise crooked politicians. That is the truth of the matter.

I have hammered about crooked politicians, and accusations against politicians, even politicians I happen to personally like. I don’t cut them ANY slack!

I went off on this; Voter Registration Fraud Uncovered and pointed out the suspicious fire that followed the alleged fraud. I regularly take on the Obama administration and their way of raping America; People Have Noticed.

Recently, we have seen this; Ethics Inquiry of Rangel Finds Evidence of Violations and this; Rep. Maxine Waters to face ethics charges.

I even weighed in on a gentleman that I have known for a long time and recently got to meet in person, and happen to actually like, Rep. Joe Driver (TX-113); State Rep. Joe Driver of Garland double-billed for travel.

I talked with Joe Driver by phone on Thursday morning. He called regarding The Rowlett TEA Party Candidates Forum that we are sponsoring on Sept. 25th, and in talking I told him, straight up, how I feel about these accusations that have been leveled against him, and I referenced back to the Tom DeLay campaign finance investigation and the words I said to and about Mr. DeLay.

I told Tom DeLay this; “If they can prove you guilty of intentional misdeeds, you need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. If they can’t prove you guilty, they need to leave you the hell alone and let you get on with your life.�?

Joe Driver took those words in the spirit in which they were meant. Mr. Driver may have made a mistake, but he is a man of principle. Joe Driver even agreed with that take on matters and the prosecution of crimes.

Apparently, Mr. DeLay didn’t.

A while back DeLay had a link to my blog on his page. It seems they really liked my no nonsense approach and highly un-PC way of getting to the heart of the matter. Until it came to speaking out about Mr. DeLay himself. After I said those words to Mr. DeLay, they dropped the link to my blog and banned me from their site.

I guess the truth hurts sometimes.

As I said to Mr. DeLay and Mr. Driver, I say again to Eddie Bernice Johnson, Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters, and any other person that’s in public office, “If they can prove you guilty of intentional misdeeds, you need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. If they can’t prove you guilty, they need to leave you the hell alone and let you get on with your life.�?

I don’t care what color they are, I don’t care which political party they belong to, if they are, in fact, crooks, take them OUT and make graphic examples of them and highly publicize their punishment.

Anyone can make a mistake, but an elected official that intentionally breaks the public trust is, in MY not so humble opinion, the lowest form of humanity on the face of the earth!

And there’s one other thing I feel I MUST address here, the very top paragraph of the original story, which says;

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