By Alexa Gitler - Talk Radio News Service
Even after the House Ethics Committee charged Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) with over a dozen rules violations, the embattled former Ways and Means Chair continued to voice his innocence.
“Even though they are serious charges, I’m prepared to prove that the only thing I’ve ever had in my 50 years of public service is service,” Rangel told reporters Thursday night.
Today on Capitol Hill, however, Rangel received mixed reviews from folks.
“As important as Rangel is to the Democrats and for someone who has served so long, he has deeply disappointed the people who voted for him and it has put serious distrust in the Democratic Party, said James Davis, a resident of Walhalla, South Carolina.”
Several Democrats, even leaders like House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), urged Rangel to reach a settlement with the committee to avoid the prospect of televised hearings right before the November elections. Byron, Illinois resident Susanne Smith told Talk Radio News Service that she believes Rangel’s trial will hurt the Democrats in the midterms.
“I don’t think people will really remember the outcome of this trial but it will definitely shed a lot of negative light on the Democratic Party,” she said.
Despite the laundry list of charges, some don’t believe Rangel, 80, is guilty. Mark Davidson from Germantown, Maryland said people should not rush to judgments over Rangel.
“Those are just allegations, nothing is set in stone,” he said. “In our country everyone is innocent until they are proven guilty with cold hard evidence, and people should remember that!”
Others out there think putting Rangel on trial is a waste of taxpayer time and money.
“Yes this is important, but there are many other things going on in the world - the wars overseas, problems with our economy - that are much more important than this that our government should really be focusing on,” said Eric Cho of Gaithersburg, Maryland.