Rangel welcomes pre-election trial

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) expressed frustration Wednesday with the House Ethics Committee and indicated that he would welcome a public trial on charges that he violated 13 House ethics rules before the November midterm elections.

“I want to get the goddamn thing over with,” Rangel said late Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) joined the five Republican members of the House Ethics Committee in calling for public ethics trials to be held for Rangel and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) ahead of the November midterm elections. 

On Tuesday, the Republican members of the committee accused committee chair, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) of putting off the ethics trails for political reasons. 

Rangel wouldn’t speculate on the motivation of the committee’s GOP members and said he has had no personal communication with the Ethics Committee. Rangel said he assumed his lawyers have been relaying to the committee his desire for a speedy resolution. 

“I think I deserve to be treated better than this,” said Rangel. “I don’t know whatever happened to the bipartisan ethics committee.”