Politics

Rangel: Election Day and November trial

By Paul Blumenthal

Rep. Charlie Rangel is awaiting an ethics trial in Congress, but today he faces the voters of his Harlem district in a contested primary.

Rangel is facing what could be the most contentious the 20-term lawmaker has seen since he first won election to the House of Representatives in 1970. He is facing off against four primary opponents, one of whom, Adam Clayton Powell IV, is the son of the man that Rangel beat in 1970 when he first won election to Congress.

The other contestants include Joyce Johnson, Jonathan Tasini and Vince Morgan.

If Rangel manages to make it out of the primary field with his job intact he is likely going to have to wait to face a trial by the House Ethics Committee over a series of charges that he violated House ethics rules and laws.

Despite wanting a speedy trial, it is looking far more likely that the committee will wait until after the November 2 elections to meet.

Full post as published by Sunlight Foundation on September 14, 2010 (boomark / email).