Circus Time

Rangel has both the facts and the law against him. The only path left to him is to drag the whole House of Representatives down to his level.

“It’s going to be a spectacle,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. “It has lots of potential to be pathetic for Rangel and the committee...”


... Rangel is expected to defend himself during the trial, having parted ways with his legal defense team in October amid disputes over tactics and money. Rangel graduated from St. John’s Law School in 1960, but though he did stints as a private-practice lawyer and an assistant U.S. attorney before being elected to the House in 1970, he hasn’t practiced law for decades.
“If he’s representing himself, this is likely to be a bit of a circus,” said Robert Kelner, an ethics expert at the law firm Covington & Burling.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45108.html#ixzz15MOiT919