Rep. Charles Rangel walks out of his own ethics hearing

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: LA Times

WASHINGTON — The long-awaited congressional ethics hearing for New York Rep. Charles Rangel proceeded without him Monday morning after the Harlem Democrat walked out of the proceeding, saying he did not have legal representation.

In a tense exchange with members of a subcommittee of the House ethics panel, Rangel complained that the two-year investigation into whether he had failed to report sources of income, among the 13 alleged violations, caused him to rack up a legal tab of nearly $2 million. His lawyers warned the hearing could cost another $1 million. After he was unable to convince them that he would be able to pay, they withdrew as his representatives earlier this fall, Rangel said.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/sc-dc-rangel-trial-opens-20101115,0,5460151.story