NBC Journalist Defends Rangel: 'He's Not a Crook'

In the last month, Representative Charles Rangel was found guilty of eleven ethics violations for lying, failing to pay taxes, and improper solicitation.  Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to censure him, 333-79.  And yet there are still those who will put all of that aside and shun truth.

One of these people is Gabe Pressman.  In an article entitled "In Defense of Charles Rangel," Pressman does all he can to paint the corrupt Congressman as someone who's only "sin" was "sloppiness."  Taking Rangel's side and taking Rangel's statements as facts, Pressman writes:

"So what exactly did this man do? He failed to report income from a condominium he owned in the Dominican Republic. But he thought it didn’t have to be reported because it was being rolled into the money he owed on the mortgage he took out there.

In view of the fact that the very people who prosecuted him admit he wasn’t a crook and that his major sin was sloppiness -- not a willful violation of the law -- it seems unfair that he has received the most severe punishment handed out by the House in 27 years."

Sloppiness?  The only thing he did was not report income?  Who is buying this crap?  I can only think of two reasons how Pressman could be this completely blind: he is actually stupid enough to believe Rangel's lies or he is a liberal hack that desperately was to paint Rangel as a saint with flaws.  Either way, this man clearly should not be a journalist.

"Sloppiness" according to NBC

The lies continue later in the article:

"Asked if he had anything to say, Rangel said: “I am sorry for any embarrassment I might have caused. There’s no excuse for my behavior but there was no attempt to go beyond what was given to me as a salary. I had no intention to enrich myself.”  

There has been a kind of lynch mob out there demanding Rangel’s conviction and punishment. Editorial writers, columnists, broadcast pundits have joined in the outcry.

Davis says that no one says “Rangel was personally enriched” by any of the rules violations. “Indeed,” says Davis, “the fact that Rangel is so indigent that he cannot afford to pay for a lawyer to defend him before the ethics committee says it all."

Did Pressman or NBC do any research at all before running this story.  Rangel could not pay for a lawyer?  His lawyers quit because they were so convinced Rangel was going down.

But hey, when you have the journalistic integrity of NBC, you don't care that you're spewing lies I guess.


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