Rangel's night for ethics amnesia
New York pols show up - some reluctantly - to congressman's bash
By Walter Shapiro
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NEW YORK – It was the antithesis of Chelsea Clinton's wedding — a glittering social event on the New York political calendar that many prominent politicians wished (very privately) they did not have to attend and hoped (very secretly) would somehow be canceled.

But Charlie Rangel's 80th birthday party and campaign fundraiser in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel went off without a hitch Wednesday night . . . if you don't count the formal ethics charges filed against the 20-term Harlem Democratic congressman last month, his rambling and defiant defense of his conduct on the House floor Tuesday, and the last-hurrah aura to his re-election campaign. Grabbing a microphone at the beginning of the evening and abandoning any pretence of stiff formality despite the lavish setting, Rangel declared, "I've been to a lot of funerals, but this damn sure ain't no funeral, is it?"

From the large "Sold Out" signs outside the Grand Ballroom to the crush of political New York (city council members and U.S. senators, Harlem ministers and Hasidic rabbis, community activists and Wall Street executives) standing shoulder to shoulder for more than two hours, this was an event designed to signal to the world that Rangel still boasted, at least, local clout. Yet there was edginess in the room, partly because the three New York newspapers had spent the week gleefully recounting the evasive answers from political figures about whether they would attend.

Mike Bloomberg — with the bluntness of a three-term billionaire mayor with nothing to lose — said pointedly, "I know a few people couldn't be here tonight because, as they tell it, either they had to get a haircut unexpectedly or they were sure that they'd have a headache. But Charlie, as you know, they were with you as long as they could be."

Bloomberg's mocking words implicitly referred to the unwritten etiquette manual of politics — loyalty and gratitude should trump everything, especially timorous self-interest. As former Republican Sen. Al D'Amato, now a lobbyist, told me as he worked the room before the program started, "Everyone in politics has got to live by their own code. Charlie and I worked together in Washington for 18 years. So I'm here because when people are in trouble, that's when they want to see you."

..Throughout the evening, Rangel kept his emotions mostly in check, smiling broadly and giving a thumbs-up sign as Dionne Warwick (substituting for Aretha Franklin, who had been injured in a fall) sang, "That's what friends are for/For good times and bad times/I'll be on your side forever more." But flashes of pain also crossed Rangel's face, particularly when R & B legend Chuck Jackson delivered his mournful and moving rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone." It was hard not to imagine Rangel's anguish over being stripped of the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee as Jackson sang, "Walk on through the wind/Walk on through the rain/Though your dreams be tossed and blown."

With ineffectual lame-duck Gov. David Paterson serving woodenly as the MC — and having to introduce Andrew Cuomo, the man who pushed him aside as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee — moments of political awkwardness were inevitable. At one point, Paterson said ruefully, after being told to juggle the order of speakers to accommodate Sen. Chuck Schumer's schedule, "They're not happy with my work." Most New York voters feel the same way — a statewide Quinnipiac University poll in June gave Paterson a 29-percent approval rating.

The safest political gambit in honoring the beleaguered Rangel was to lavishly praise his prior record and conspicuously ignore the current unpleasantness. Kirsten Gillibrand, appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat last year and facing her first statewide election in November, took this route as she gushed, "Thank you, Charlie, for your service to the country and your service to our wonderful state."

But in light of the ethics charges against Rangel, too much specificity was fraught with irony, if not actual political risk. Schumer, who has served with Rangel in Congress for almost three decades, went out of his way to praise the veteran legislator for his selfless service on the House Ways and Means Committee. Schumer explained that veteran members of the tax-writing committee get to dispense politically useful favors by doing "something for a big shot in their industry or a big power in the industry." But as Schumer's told the crowd at the Plaza, "Year after year Charlie Rangel said, 'Don't do things to benefit me. Just make sure that the low-income housing tax credit gets extended.' "

..There was only one problem with this uplifting story — the ethics committee report outlining the charges against Rangel. The most serious allegation in the report (and Rangel has not yet had a chance to formally respond) is that the veteran congressman solicited donations from corporations and individuals with tax issues before the Ways and Means Committee to establish a Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City University. While the financial benefits to Rangel from this center would be modest (mostly office space after retirement), the lasting benefits for Rangel's ego would be priceless.

Jerry Nadler, whose Manhattan congressional district borders Rangel's, was the only speaker who had the bravery (or foolhardiness) to actually refer to the ethics committee charges. "I read all the report," Nadler said before offering his personal verdict, "If this were a court of law, most of this would be thrown out — it wouldn't stand up." That was enough to prompt loud cheers from the crowd at the Plaza. But what no one seems to have noticed (and after nearly two hours of oratory, few were listening that closely), Nadler dismissed most but not all of the charges against Rangel, implying that some of the accusations have merit.

The newly refurbished Plaza Hotel is a place for Eloise to frolic and revelers to sing "Happy Birthday" along with Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson rather than the setting to solemnly assess the charges against the congressman from Harlem. Before he sent all his well-wishers off to the well-stocked drink carts at the end of the evening, Charlie Rangel said with gratitude in his voice, "Please remember me in your prayers. It really works." But it may take more than just prayer to rescue Rangel -- until recently the most powerful New York legislator in decades — in September when the ethics committee takes up the case.

VIDEO

Rep. Charlie Rangel defends himself again, says he wants to 'get back to work'
By CARL CAMPANILE, August 12, 2010
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A day after a who's who of Democratic officials turned out to celebrate scandal-scarred Rep. Charles Rangel's 80th birthday, the Harlem Democrat launched yet another public defense today -- saying he yearns "to get back to work."

During an event in Harlem to launch his campaign, Rangel said he will put the ethics charges lodged against him to the side so he can get re-elected.

"I have to get back to work," he said, his third public comments in as many days.

Rangel called the 13 ethics violations against him "vicious charges of corruption" -- and again pleaded for a hearing date.

"I'm going to restrict myself to trying to get re-elected and identify with the needs of my district," he said.

Rangel then called Mayor Bloomberg and others who attended his birthday bash as his closest friends.

"That's my political family," he said.

The speech came a day after a jovial Gov. Paterson emceed the fund-raising bash and paid tribute to the embattled congressman's "dedication to public service."

Rangel lapped it up, telling the crowd, "This damn sure ain't no funeral, is it?"

At the end of the festivities in the Grand Ballroom, an emotional Rangel told the audience, "Please remember me in your prayers. It helps."

Rangel -- who has been slapped with 13 ethics charges by the House ethics committee -- called the occasion "an experience I'll never, ever forget.

"I can't tell you how moving this has been," he said.

He left the stage dancing.

Less than half the state's 27-member Democratic congressional delegation accepted invitations.

Carolyn Maloney -- whose district borders Rangel's -- didn't attend, but Paterson announced during the festivities that she wrote a $2,500 check.

In his remarks, Bloomberg took on the elephant in the room, joking that the no-shows "had to get a haircut unexpectedly, or they were sure they'd have a headache."

Both Cuomo and Schumer praised Rangel for his devotion to the poor.

"He carried the banner for people long forgotten," said Cuomo, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor.

Schumer said he was "grateful and thankful" for all that Rangel had done.

"He has fought for New York through thick and thin," he said.

August 11, 2010
Despite Scandal, Rangel Draws a Crowd
By MICHAEL BARBARO, NY TIMES
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It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel’s 80th birthday, former Mayor David N. Dinkins turned to confront a heckler.

“You know you are attending a party for a crook,” the man yelled.

At that, Mr. Dinkins, a paragon of statesmanship and dignity, raised his middle finger at the man, displaying it for all to see, according to witnesses, whose accounts were confirmed by the former mayor.

In the past few weeks, Mr. Rangel’s birthday fund-raiser, billed by its organizers as a splashy tribute to a titan of New York politics, seemed to have become an embarrassing debacle.

Democratic lawmakers agonized about showing up. Republicans threatened to turn an R.S.V.P. into a campaign issue. And Mr. Rangel, whose actual birthday is June 11, all but pleaded with would-be guests to make an appearance.

But in the end, the party was a potent display of support and loyalty for the lawmaker, who faces numerous ethics charges, including accusations that he hoarded rent-stabilized apartments and dodged taxes on a Dominican villa.

The big names that mingled amid heaping plates of roast beef, goat cheese and onion rings vastly outnumbered those who bailed out. And a raucous, at times celebratory, mood prevailed as Dionne Warwick belted out her famous pop ballad “That’s What Friends Are For” and Harry Belafonte rubbed elbows with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Mr. Rangel seemed to capture the down-but-not-out spirit of the event when he looked out at the packed Grand Ballroom and shouted, “This damn sure ain’t no funeral, is it?”

The timing of Mr. Rangel’s party could not have been worse for many Democrats across the state: they face a brutal campaign climate. Many complained that the event, a few weeks before their party’s primary, had forced them to choose between their allegiance to a venerable colleague and their own shot at re-election this fall.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, some chose re-election. A number of Mr. Rangel’s fellow New York lawmakers skipped the party, offering a range of explanations. (Representative John Hall said he needed to march in a local firefighters’ parade, and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney said she had to visit family in Virginia.)

But the intense speculation about an anemic turnout seemed to embolden rather than deflate Mr. Rangel, who appeared determined to prove the naysayers wrong. His staff recorded an automated phone message, which it delivered to dozens of invited guests, pleading with them to attend. “Hi. This is Charlie Rangel,” the message said. “I’m sorry I missed you, but I’m calling to let you know that there’s a birthday party.”

Mr. Rangel personally lobbied a few high-profile guests, telling them he was counting on them to show up, according to people told of the conversations. It seemed to pay off. The state’s senior senator, Charles E. Schumer, and the state attorney general and Democratic nominee for governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, who had relentlessly dodged questions about their attendance, showed up and spoke warmly about Mr. Rangel, steering clear of the ethics charges against him.

“He has fought for New York through thick and thin,” Mr. Schumer said, as Mr. Rangel stood nearby on a stage. “We are so grateful and thankful for that.”

On Wednesday night, Mr. Rangel’s campaign issued a defiant and gloating message on Twitter, declaring that “despite what the media wants you to believe,” the party had sold out. A spokesman for Mr. Rangel said that he had sold 800 tickets and that about 600 people had attended.

The soiree doubled as a re-election fund-raiser — tickets started at $200 — and a crucial test of Mr. Rangel’s appeal as a candidate as he seeks a 21st term. Traditionally a prodigious fund-raiser, he has struggled in the latest election cycle. He has spent far more than he has brought in, and has $517,000 left in his account, far more than his four opponents, but hardly a formidable war chest.

But it appeared that in their rush to corral guests, Mr. Rangel’s aides invited some people who gave no money at all. Miriam Berger and her husband, Meir, who live in Bergen County, N.J., said they were invited at the last minute by Mr. Rangel’s chief of staff, but were not asked for a donation. “They really wanted people here,” Ms. Berger said.

Of course, hundreds of donors turned out as well, many of them Rangel loyalists who said they had tired of reading about Mr. Rangel’s troubles and felt compelled to be by his side. “It’s a show of support,” said Dorothy Watson, a retired foreign-service worker who said she had lived in his district for decades and had attended his birthday party every year.

Many guests, explaining their decision to attend, said it was a matter of pride: Mr. Rangel’s and those of his constituents. “I am not going to be the guy who kicks him when he is down,” said John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of the Gristedes food chain in New York.

Mr. Rangel is a proud and pugnacious man, known for his testy exchanges with colleagues and reporters. But it is clear that the investigation and the growing calls for him to step down have left him rattled. On Tuesday, in an extraordinary display of vulnerability and emotion on the floor of the House, Mr. Rangel acknowledged the pain that the ethics investigations had inflicted on him and his party. “I don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed, awkward,” he said, at times staring at the floor.

Friends said he was deeply dismayed that some of his colleagues had not attended the party, especially those who had benefited from his campaign fund-raising. Mr. Rangel singled them out during his speech in the House. “As much as I love you Democrats,” he said, “I’m the guy who was raising money in Republican districts to get you here.”

Midway through Mr. Rangel’s House speech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi abruptly left the floor and huddled with her aides.

On Wednesday, however, in the gilded, two-story ballroom at the Plaza, signs of loyalty were everywhere. When Ms. Warwick turned to Mr. Rangel and began to sing “That’s What Friends Are For,” the entire crowd joined in with her.

Colin Moynihan contributed reporting.

Shocking bird watching at Charlie Rangel's party
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David N. Dinkins, the 106th mayor of New York City, is the consummate gentleman. Always courteous and impeccably dressed, he is grace personified. That’s why I was shocked -- and I mean SHOCKED -- to read this lead in the New York Times story today about Rep. Charles B. Rangel’s birthday last night.

It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel’s 80th birthday, former Mayor David N. Dinkins turned to confront a heckler.

“You know you are attending a party for a crook,” the man yelled.

At that, Mr. Dinkins, a paragon of statesmanship and dignity, raised his middle finger at the man, displaying it for all to see, according to witnesses, whose accounts were confirmed by the former mayor.

You can actually see Dinkins flip the one-finger salute in the story aired by New York 1 News.

Joseph Bassolino, the rude dude who elicited the rude gesture from Dinkins, said, “Coming from someone who was a former mayor, you’d think he’d be used to criticism.” He’s right!

Dinkins had a rough four years as mayor. One crisis after another, it seemed, bedeviled the city’s first African American mayor. But at no point -- ever -- did you see him lose his composure, his cool. The only time you saw him raise his hand was when he wiped his sweat-filled brow with his omnipresent handkerchief during a press conference or a speech. We are that much closer to chaos when a man of such dignity loses his trademark reserve over your basic, run-of-the-mill Big Apple heckler.

August 11, 2010 5:35 PM
Adam Clayton Powell IV on Charlie Rangel: "We Need to Turn the Page"
Posted by Lauren Seifert, CBS
LINK

Embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) will find out tonight who his real friends are with a fundraising gala celebrating his 80th birthday. Next month, however, he will really need them: Rangel has a fierce primary challenge ahead of him against the son of New York political legend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

Ironically, Adam Clayton Powell IV is challenging Rangel in the same fashion Rangel challenged his father some 40 years ago. In 1970, the elder Powell was facing an ethics scandal, as Rangel is now. He refused to step down, and a young, ambitious Rangel took on the incumbent and won his storied seat.

Could the tide turn again? On Wednesday's "Washington Unplugged," Powell IV spoke with CBS News' Sharyl Attkisson and let it be known that it's time for Rangel to do the right thing and step down.

"He's really seems to be in no-man's land," he said. "I've called upon him to resign with some level of dignity and spare his constituents in the Congressional district, as well as the entire nation, the agony of a trial that could very well end in his expulsion from Congress or possible Federal and criminal charges."

Rangel is expected to go before the House ethics committee this fall in a public trial over 13 charges of ethical wrongdoing against him.
Powell said, "We need to turn the page. He is 80 years old. The fact is none of these accusations are helping him or anyone else for that matter."

But Powell is himself no stranger to controversy. In 2008, Powell faced a DUI charge that was later reduced. Two allegations of sexual assault were leveled against him; Powell emphatically denied the allegations and was never charged. Attkisson also mentioned the ethics problems his father faced before losing his seat to Rangel 40 years ago.

Powell responded, "Every situation is different. When my father ran for reelection in 1970 all of those ethics accusations were behind him. The fact is he was in his late-50's. Now, we have a different situation. The Congressman is 80 years-old and these violations are current. He should retire with some dignity and some level of honor."

Powell also quipped, "He has four rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; plenty of space for him to live out his retirement years."

Powell still has an uphill climb against the political main-stay. Most residents respect and admire Rangel, who for so many decades brought perks and money to Harlem, an area that has seen a revitalization over the past decade.

How would Powell, as a junior, first-term congressman be able to match that? Powell responded, "You can't compare me or anyone else coming in to 40 years in Congress. The fact is we must turn the page. Everyone knows that change is coming and Congressman Rangel will not be around much longer. The question is when will that change happen and who will replace him? I've prepared myself over the last 20 years, and I will be able to deliver."

Ethics Committee: 13 Charges Against Charlie Rangel
Posted by Stephanie Condon, CBS news, July 29, 2010 2:42 PM
LINK

A public trial into ethics charges against New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel began today. Lawmakers cast the proceedings as a necessary exercise to regain the public's trust in Congress.

The 20-term representative is charged with 13 "very serious" allegations, said Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the ranking Republican in the House Ethics Committee. The charges are related to allegations Rangel inappropriately solicited donations for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York, left errors and omissions on his financial dicslosure forms, failed to report and pay taxes on rental income for a beach villa, and inappropriately allowed his campaign committees to use a rent subsized apartment.

Rangel attempted to reach a settlement with the committee to avoid a humiliating public trial, but no deal was reached. The start of trial now marks the culmination of a two-year investigation into the charges against him.

An ethics committee investigator said the case could still be settled, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer Jill Jackson reports.

If the lawmakers on the committee --- which includes an equal number of Democrats and Republicans -- find Rangel guilty, punishment could range from a report criticizing his conduct to a reprimand or censure by the House to a vote to expel him.

"We have an obligation to Mr. Rangel so that he has his day in court, so to speak," McCaul said as the trial opened. "We also have an obligation to the American people to protect the integrity and accountability of the House."

He added that given that just 11 percent of Americans have a positive perception of Congress, there is added pressure to ensure the trial is "fair, open and conducted in a strictly nonpartisan manner."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said this Congress is ushering in a new era of accountability, McCaul noted.

"I agree," he said. "Let us begin today."

Committee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren of California also said the committee has a responsibility to rebuild the public's trust in Congress.

In his 40 years in office, Rangel has wielded substantial power. Until March he served as head of the Ways and Means Committee, where he oversaw policy on taxes, trade, health care, Medicare and Social Security. He stepped down from that position, however, after the ethics committee admonished him for a separate ethics incident -- the committee said he should have known that two trip he took to the Caribbean for conferences were paid for with corporate money.

"Sixty years ago I survived a Chinese attack in North Korea and as a result I haven't had a bad day since," Rangel told reporters this morning. "But today I have to reassess that statement."

The scandal has prompted at least three Democrats to call for Rangel's resignation.

"I think as members of Congress we have duty to hold each other to a high standard," Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick said on CBSNews.com's Washington Unplugged today. "I'm not happy with what's been discovered by the Ethics Committee and I think he should step down."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this morning that the political chips will fall where they may and there must be accountabilty, CBS News' Jill Jackson reports.

House Republican Leader John Boehner said this morning that "this is a sad moment for our Congress." He tried to cast the issues as larger than Rangel.

"It's about Speaker Pelosi and her promise to drain the swamp," he said, as Jackson reports.

Update: Rangel submitted a 32-page response to the charges that said, "The Statement of Alleged Violation ('SAV') in this case is deeply flawed in its factual premises and legal theories... The undisputed evidence in the record--assembled by the Investigative Subcommittee over its nearly two-year investigation--is that Congressman Rangel did not dispense any political favors, that he did not intentionally violate any law, rule or regulation, and that he did not misuse his public office for private gain."

Statement of Alleged Violations
Documents Related to Statement of Alleged Violations
Statement of Charles B. Rangel in Response to the Statement of Alleged Violation