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United States News Title: Ethics counsel recommends Rangel censure Washington (CNN) -- The chief counsel of the House ethics committee concluded Thursday that Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, should be censured by the House of Representatives in response to multiple rules violations committed by the 20-term congressman. "Disciplinary action in this matter is necessary," R. Blake Chisam said at a committee hearing called to consider possible punishments. "This is about the institution [of the House] and the ultimate test for the institution is whether members behave creditably." Rangel, who was found guilty of the violations on Tuesday, pleaded for "a drop of fairness and mercy," in part out of recognition of his lengthy public record. An ethics subcommittee found "clear and convincing" evidence of Rangel's guilt on 11 counts, including failing to pay taxes on a home in the Dominican Republic, misuse of a rent-controlled apartment for political purposes, and improper use of his office to raise funds for a public policy center named for him. The 80-year-old Rangel, re-elected earlier this month, was cleared of a charge relating to an alleged violation of the House gift ban. The full ethics committee -- formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct -- can recommend penalties ranging from a fine to expulsion. A censure is typically considered to be the most serious penalty short of expulsion. It generally requires a congressman to stand on the floor of the House while being publicly rebuked. The 10-member committee, after deliberating the appropriate punishment behind closed doors, will forward its report and recommendation to the full House. One of the Democrats -- North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield -- said he disagreed with Chisam's censure recommendation. "Censure is extreme," Butterfield said. "The evidence does not suggest corruption." Rangel has had "a distinguished career," he added. Top Republicans appeared to be less sympathetic. "It is painful for me to say this to a man I personally respect, but Mr. Rangel can no longer blame anyone but himself for the position he now finds himself in," said Alabama Rep. Jo Bonner, the ranking committee Republican. "Mr. Rangel should only look into the mirror if he wants to know who to blame." Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the incoming Republican speaker, indicated during a briefing with reporters he "wholeheartedly" agreed with the counsel's recommendation. "I believe that dealing with this as soon as possible is in the best interest of the institution (of the House) and of Mr. Rangel," he said. Rangel, a former chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, arrived for Thursday's hearing accompanied by Rep. John Lewis, D- Georgia, a fellow veteran of the civil rights movement. Lewis said that while he didn't know all the facts of Rangel's case, he could testify that the Harlem congressman is committed, hardworking, and patriotic. "Charlie Rangel is a good and decent man," Lewis said. "I think I know his heart." Lewis called Rangel "a champion for those left out and left behind." "I truly believe public officials have a higher responsibility than most Americans to obey the rules, because we write them," Rangel said Thursday morning. "There can be no excuse for my acts of omission. I've failed in carrying out my responsibilities. I made numerous mistakes." But, Rangel argued, "corruption and personal enrichment are certainly not part of my mistakes and the [ethics committee's] chief counsel made that abundantly clear. And that was the point I was always trying to make." "The ethics committee has not met its burden of proof in presenting clear and convincing evidence that Charlie Rangel has deviated from his sense of duty to this body and this great country," he contended. Rangel also repeated his earlier complaint that the ethics subcommittee hearing his case rejected his request to delay its trial hearing until he could assemble a new defense team. Rangel's original defense team left him in September. He told subcommittee members Monday that he was not being given enough time to raise funds to hire new lawyers because the committee was rushing to complete its work before the conclusion of the current lame-duck Congress. California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the ethics committee chairwoman, said it was Rangel's responsibility to assemble his legal team. She also noted that Rangel had received advice numerous times from the committee on how to raise funds for his defense. Numerous House Republicans -- as well as some House Democrats -- have called for Rangel to resign because of the ethics violations. Rangel, who was first elected to the House in 1970, was forced to step down as head of the Ways and Means Committee because of the allegations against him. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California is also scheduled to have an adjudication hearing with the House ethics committee this month, on November 29. Waters has denied the allegations against her, which include steering federal bailout money to Massachusetts-based OneUnited Bank, in which her husband had a financial stake.
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