Charles Rangel - Caribbean trips scandal

Summary

In 2007 and 2008, Congressman Rangel and several other members of congress took trips to Caribbean islands which they claimed were sponsored by a non-profit. In 2009, an ethics complaint was filed alleging that the conference and trips were funded by a number of large corporations with major interests before Congress and the Ways and Means Committee - which Congressman Rangel chaired.  This, combined with the duration of the trips, seemed to violate House rules, and the Ethics Committee agreed the following month to investigate the matter.  In the report released by the Committee, it was determined that only Congressman Rangel had reason to be aware of the source of the trips funding.  He was publicly admonished in the ethics report.

 

Caribbean trips

In November of 2007 and November of 2008, a New York based non-profit known as the Carib News Foundation sponsored seminars in Antigua and Barbuda, and in St. Maarten respectively.  The Carib News Foundation is related to a newspaper aimed at New York City’s U.S. Caribbean immigrant community.  The purpose of the conferences was to discuss methods of promoting business in the Caribbean islands and it was billed as the "Caribbean Multi-Cultural Business Conference".  The Carib News Foundation paid for the transportation and lodging for Congressman Rangel and several other members of Congress.  The 2008 trip to St. Maarten was three days long and set at the Sonesta Maho Bay Resort & Casino.

Prior to the trip, Congressman Rangel's staff, and the staff of the other Congressmen in attendance, obtained permission to accept the trips from the House Ethics Committee.

 

Other Congressional attendees

Five other members of Congress joined Congressman Rangel on the trip.  These members were Reps. Carolyn Kilpatrick (Mich.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Donald Payne (N.J.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.) and non-voting Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Christensen.  All of these attendees are members of the Congressional Black Congress.

 

Ethics compliant

An ethics complaint was filed in May of 2009 by Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC). Mr Flaherty traveled to St. Maarten, registered for the conference under his own name, and attended the scheduled events.  During this time, he took pictures and made audio recordings of the events which showed that it was abundantly evident that corporate sponsors which had items pending before the Ways and Means Committee paid for the conference.  Among the pictures taken by Mr Flaherty was the one below, which shows the flyer for the conference with the sponsors clearly shown.  Similar banners were all around the conference, including on the main podium.

 

Mr. Flaherty characterized the trip as a ‘junket’, based on his observation that the sessions were lightly attended and that:

Most attendees spent significant time at the beach or the pool. Members of Congress attended the sessions when they had a speaking role.

Congressman Payne has maintained that he had no knowledge that the event was sponsored by corporations. In calling for an investigation, Flaherty highlighted Payne’s public recognition of each corporate sponsor during an evening session. 

As evident from the photographs, Payne’s representation that he did not see the logos on the podium sign or on the banner above the podium is implausible.  Corporate sponsorship was also obvious in the program and in items provided participants at registration, including a bag with the Macy’s logo on its side, and a notebook embossed with the Citigroup logo.

Mr. Flaherty attended the conference for more than two days until the police approached and questioned him just hours before a dinner featuring Rangel.

I was detained on the Sonesta property by the Police Korp of St. Maarten. I was questioned and my driver’s license was taken from me. I was asked where I was born, my occupation, my marital status, my purpose for visiting St. Maarten, my hotel room number and many other questions. I was released after being told that ‘conference organizers’ did not want me to attend additional events.

 

Picture of Congressman Rangel

One of the reasons that the trip in 2008 caused such controversy was due to a picture that was apparently taken of Congressman Rangel asleep on the beach while at the conference.  This picture was used as evidence that Congressman Rangel and the other attending representatives saw the trip as more of a reward and less of a working venture.

 

Rules Violation

In addition to the possibility that the trip may have been considered a gift to Congressman Rangel from groups with items pending before the House Ways and Means Committee, the trip may have violated rules set in place by the Democrats after they assumed power after the 2006 elections.  These rules bar lawmakers from accepting travel lasting more than two days if corporations that “employ or retain a registered lobbyist” are underwriting or organizing any part of them.

 

House Ethics Committee ruling

The House Ethics Committee released a ruling on the trips on February 26, 2010.  The investigation spanned eight months, interviewed 29 witnesses, issued 6 subpoenas, held 19 subcommittee meetings, and analyzed 3,000 pages of documents.  The three page report showed that the committee reached the following conclusions:

• Charlie Rangel's staff knew that the trips were paid for by the corporations and that Rangel was responsible for these actions and therefore violated House ethics rules by accepting the trips
• The other members of Congress did not know the origins of the funding for the trip and were therefore not responsible
• Although the members of Congress were given permission to initially accept the trips, the permission was given under false pretense and the cost the trips must now be paid for by the Congressional members
• The Carib News Foundation misled the Congressional staffers and the House Ethics Committee
• Congressman Rangel should be publicly admonished for his behavior concerning the trips

 

 

Congressman Rangel's Response

Congressman Rangel gave a press conference following the release of the report, questioning how a Congressional member can be held accountable for the unknown actions of his staffer.

 

 

References

[1] Website: CBS News Article: Rangel Trips Under Investigation Author: Laura Strickler Accessed on: 04/30/2010

[2] Website: ABC News Article: Democrats Join Republicans Calling for Rangel to Step Down Author: Dean Norland and Matt Loffman Accessed on: 04/30/2010

[3] Website: The Hill Article: Caribbean trip under scrutiny by House panel Author: Susan Crabtree Accessed on: 04/30/2010

[4] Website: US House of Representatives - via ABC News Article: Committee on Standards and Official Conduct - Report on Congressman Rangel Author: NA Accessed on: 04/30/2010

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