Sep 13, 2009 10:04 am US/Eastern
City Lawmakers Rally Around Embattled Rep. Rangel
Local Politicians Want People To Wait For Facts Before Passing Judgment
Rangel Investigated For Various Financial Irregularities, Including Failure To Pay Taxes On Dominican Home, Failure To Report Income On Fla. Condo
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel
CBS
City lawmakers are rallying around Congressman Charles Rangel as the House Ethics Committee looks into his finances.
Supporters say everyone needs to wait before passing judgment. There were dozens of voices Saturday, many of them local politicians, pleading for patience.
"We ask for fairness," City Council member Inez Dickens said.
"We want to expose the truth," councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito said.
Many of the demonstrators were livid.
"Leave Charlie the hell alone!" Reverend Reggie Williams, of the American Red Cross, said.
All of the protesters were asking for the public to withhold judgment on Rangel until comment first comes from the ethics committee.
"Let the process move forward, unimpeded, but we will not allow for a witch hunt," Assembly member Adriano Espaillat said.
It comes after a year-long process of investigation into financial irregularities, including whether Rangel paid below-market rent for four Harlem apartments, failed to report income on a Florida condo, failed to pay taxes on a home in the Dominican Republic, used congressional stationary to raise money for a CUNY school named after him, and took trips paid for by lobbyists.
"They're trying to take him down, but that's not going to happen," Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins said.
Rangel himself has never answered any of the allegations, and those supporting him Saturday say they won't answer for him either.
There was little more comment after CBS 2 uncovered 119 campaign contributions made by Rangel to congressional members, including donations to the so-called "Charlie's Angels." They're three congressmen currently sitting on the ethics committee that just happens to be investigating Rangel.
"I mean, he hasn't bought them – he made a contribution to them," Hazel Dukes, of the NAACP, said. "They're his colleagues. They make contributions all the time."
Republican colleagues and the Washington Post have now called for Rangel's resignation.
"He's come under attack," assembly member Keith Wright said.
But Rangel's defenders say that's worse than passing sentence before a verdict.
"Our congressman is a victim of a smear campaign!" Espaillat said.
Governor Paterson wasn't at the rally because of a scheduling conflict, but he says he fully supports Rangel as well. There's still no word on why Rangel himself wasn't present.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will not give in to public demands for Rangel's removal as head of the House Ways and Means Committee.
CBS 2's Ross Palombo contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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