Will update with details when they are available An eight-member House ethics panel has resumed closed-door deliberations in the ethics trial of Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, accused in 13 counts of engaging in financial and fundraising misconduct.
The jury of Rangel's congressional peers met behind closed doors Tuesday. They're deciding whether the former Ways and Means Committee chairman violated House rules.
If the panel determines that even one count has been proved, the full ethics committee would consider an appropriate punishment.
The 20-term New York Democrat walked out of the trial on Monday, pleading unsuccessfully for time to hire new lawyers. He said his former lawyers abandoned him after he paid them some $2 million, but that he could no longer afford them.
Update 11:26 CST
A House ethics panel has found Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York guilty on 11 counts of breaking House rules.
The full ethics committee will next conduct a hearing on the appropriate punishment for the former chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The committee will then make a recommendation to the House. Possible punishments include a House vote deploring Rangel's conduct, a fine and denial of privileges.
The eight-member ethics panel had sat as a jury to judge Rangel's conduct. The 80-year-old congressman from Harlem was charged with 13 counts of financial and fundraising wrongdoing.