Rep. Charles Rangel said Thursday that he has "no idea" whether a deal has been struck to spare him from a drawn-out ethics trial, as reports surfaced than an agreement with the congressional panel investigating several alleged violations was in the works.
The New York Democrat said he does not plan to attend the hearing set for later Thursday where the ethics charges will be publicly addressed.
The CBS affiliate in New York and Reuters reported that a deal was being worked out. However, any arrangement would have to be approved by the subcommittee hearing the case, the full ethics committee and potentially the full House of Representatives.
If there is an arrangement, it could be discussed at the ethics hearing set for Thursday afternoon.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chips will "fall where they may" in the case. She acknowledged "individual cases" of ethical lapses as Rangel prepared to face the panel over a string of tax violation allegations that have embroiled not only him but the entire House Democratic delegation.
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator for the Fox News Channel. He is co-founder and editor-in-chief of the The Daily Caller. He is a senior fellow of the Cato Institute and formerly co-hosted CNN's Crossfire and MSNBC's Tucker.
AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writers PHOENIX (AP) ― A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona's immigration law from taking effect, delivering a last-minute victory to opponents of the crackdown. The overall law will still take effect Thursday, but without the provisions that angered opponents — including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. The judge also put on hold parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places. In addition, the judge blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants. "Requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked," U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled. She ruled that the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues. Other provisions of the law, many of them procedural and slight revisions to existing Arizona immigration statute, will go into effect at 12:01 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- One of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's top lieutenants demanded yesterday that Rep. Charles Rangel quickly settle the swirling ethics charges against him rather than face a trial tomorrow that could embarrass Democratic candidates across the country -- but the disgraced pol isn't going without a fight.
"I think it's best that he settle," Rep. George Miller, an influential California Democrat who helped engineer Pelosi's rise to power, told The Post.
"Because I just said so, that's why. That's my feeling," he added.
Amid mounting pressure on Rangel, Miller's blunt statement is the most direct message from any member of Pelosi's inner circle, and comes just a day after Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) -- another member of her leadership team -- met with Rangel to talk about the charges he's facing.
