Congressman McCaul's Remarks Delivered At Today's Ethics Adjudicatory Subcommittee Hearing On Rep. Charles Rangel

Congressman Michael T. McCaul (R-TX)

Ranking Member, Adjudicatory Subcommittee

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

Remarks as Delivered

July 29, 2010, 1:00pm EDT

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for holding this hearing.

This is an important day, both for Mr. Rangel, for the Ethics Committee, for the Congress, but most importantly for the American People. As a Member of this Committee and a former federal prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice I take this responsibility very seriously.

For the Committee, we have been presented by the Investigative Subcommittee with 13 very serious allegations relating to Mr. Rangel’s conduct. The Committee has not held a public hearing like this since 2002, when it considered evidence against James Traficant, who was convicted in federal court of multiple felony counts and subsequently served more than half a decade in prison.

For Mr. Rangel, these proceedings present a fair and public opportunity to be heard before his peers and address each of the serious allegations against him. These actions, if proven, would violate multiple provisions of House rules and federal statutes. This includes his alleged violation of the most fundamental code of conduct, which states “a Member… of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect credibility on the House.”

And credibility is exactly what is at stake here. The very credibility of the House of Representatives itself before the American people. I am mindful, as are my colleagues, of the solemn responsibility we bear when we are called upon to hear allegations of misconduct against a fellow Member. We have an obligation to Mr. Rangel that he has his day in court - so to speak - to present his own version of the events. But we also have an obligation to the American people to protect the integrity and credibility of the House and present the evidence supporting each of the 13 counts against him.

It is certainly not lost on any member of this subcommittee on the approval ratings of this body. With only 11% of the public having a positive view of this institution, the pressure is even greater to ensure these proceedings are fair, open, and conducted in a strictly nonpartisan manner. In the mind of the American people Congress has become completely self-serving, and so tone-deaf, its members somehow feel the rules just don’t apply to them. We must regain the people’s trust.

There has been talk in the media about Mr. Rangel negotiating a settlement. Let me be clear that Mr. Rangel under these rules was given opportunities to negotiate a settlement during the investigation phase. We are now in the trial phase. And the American people deserve to hear the truth in this case and the charges against him. And that is precisely why we are having this hearing today. The Speaker has said we are entering into an era of transparency and accountability. I agree, let us begin today. Let justice be served.

The evidence to be evaluated by the investigative subcommittee must be presented to this subcommittee in the clearest and most straightforward way possible. Mr. Rangel must be allowed the opportunity to adequately defend himself against this evidence. There is no place for presumed guilt before innocence in this process and there will not be in this case.

Only this type of process will allow each Member of this subcommittee to make an informed and independent determination as to whether clear and convincing evidence has been presented to prove each count alleged against Mr. Rangel.

Turning from process to substance for a moment, it is important to note that the allegations presented to us are nothing less than serious.

· The Investigative Subcommittee found that Mr. Rangel solicited foundations and corporations with business before the Ways and Means Committee, to fund a center bearing his name at the City College of New York. That allegations are that Mr. Rangel used his office staff and supplies at the taxpayers expense, including the Frank, to make the solicitations and personally met with corporate executives as part of his efforts to build the Center bearing his name.

· On the Lenox Terrace issue, the Investigative Subcommittee found that Mr. Rangel’s landlord permitted Mr. Rangel, for over a decade, to use a rent-stabilized apartment in his residential apartment building for his campaign office.

· The Investigative Subcommittee also looked at Mr. Rangel’s financial disclosures and taxes.

· As a Member of Congress for nearly 40 years and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee – which has jurisdiction over tax matters, Mr. Rangel, according to the charges, failed to report rental income on his federal tax returns and on his villa in the Dominican Republic over a period of years.

· According to the Investigative Subcommittee, over the course of nearly a decade, Mr. Rangel failed to report more than $600,000 on his financial disclosure statements for these periods.

These actions, if proven, would demonstrate that Mr. Rangel violated multiple provisions of the House rules and federal statutes.

As we prepare to hear the charges against one of our most tenured colleagues in the House, we need to ensure we have done everything to reassure to the American public as a whole – that we will handle this matter with the utmost professionalism and nonpartisanship that it deserves.

We can never forget that public office is a public trust. And with that I yield back.

(END REMARKS)