November 16th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to the guilty verdict issued by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of Representative Charlie Rangel:
“The House ethics panel has issued a decisive verdict against Charlie Rangel, but it’s not over yet. It’s now up to the panel to recommend a punishment. If Rangel refuses to resign, the only proper punishment is expulsion.
“Charlie Rangel must go.
“Rangel used a rent-stabilized apartment for campaign activities, failed to pay taxes on rental property in the Dominican Republic, and improperly used congressional letterhead to raise funds for a City University center to be built in his name. These were not small infractions.
“The House ethics panel must err on the side of reestablishing public trust in Congress after this notorious corruption scandal by recommending Rangel’s expulsion from the House forever. Anything less than expulsion will be viewed as simply a slap on the wrist and an affirmation of the ‘good ol’ boy’ network. If Congress should have learned anything from the 2010 elections, it’s that the American people want members of the House to be held accountable for their actions. Rangel is as good a place as any to start.”
###