LaRouche: Treatment of Rangel Is `Pure Injustice,' Will Lead to Ungovernability

PRESS RELEASE

LaRouche: Treatment of Rangel Is `Pure Injustice,' Will Lead to Ungovernability

Nov. 16, 2010 (EIRNS)—This release was issued today by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee.

Emerging from a "private session" on Tuesday, Nov. 16, the 8-member subcommittee of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (the "Ethics Committee") announced that it had convicted Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) of 11 counts of violations of House rules. The conviction will now be referred to the full Ethics Committee, which will "sentence" Rangel within a range that can go from a Letter of Reproval to expulsion from the House of Representatives. That "punishment" will have to be voted on by the full House of Representatives.

The conviction was done behind closed doors after Rangel had walked out of the hearing on Nov. 15, having made a powerful statement that accused the Ethics Committee of preventing him from having legal counsel, and from being able to confront his accusers or mount a defense.

Lyndon LaRouche denounced the Ethics Committee's conviction of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) as "pure injustice," which will potentially lead to ungovernability in the United States, reminiscent of the French Revolution.

"If this committee proceeds as indicated, it will create a riotous condition. When the government breaks the law, especially against important honorable figures, the population will see itself as defenseless, and, in the context of other things that are going on, the country will be reduced to a state of ungovernability, like 1789 in France.

"There's also a real legal issue involved. The committee went into a juridical mode despite the fact that Rangel had no attorney, and was seeking an attorney. So, Rangel has been subject to trial without an attorney. This is a real violation of the Constitution. This is pure injustice, and is reminiscent of the McCarthy era." This has the backing of Pelosi and Obama, LaRouche added.

"What they are heading into is absolute chaos, and under the conditions of depression, such behavior can lead to a situation like the French Revolution. They are playing with that, and they don't care."