WASHINGTON — The subcommittee that investigated Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has recommended that the embattled lawmaker face a “reprimand,” a mild form of punishment similar to that given to Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., when he was rebuked in 1997.
Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, told reporters Friday that his investigative subcommittee did not seek the high-level punishments of censure or expulsion, opting for a midlevel sanction that requires the House to approve it but carries no other penalty.
Also Friday, President Barack Obama commented on the case for the first time since charges were announced.
“These allegations are very troubling,” Obama said in an interview aired by CBS Evening News. “He’s somebody who’s at the end of his career. . . . I’m sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens.”
According to Republican counts, 10 House Democrats have now called on Rangel to resign, nine of whom face difficult re-elections in November.
A House panel Thursday made public for the first time 13 charges of misusing his office and tax and disclosure violations. If the panel finds Rangel guilty, it could then impose its own level of punishment. But the recommendation of Green would weigh heavily on that decision.
