Ethics Subcommittee Will Recommend ‘Reprimand’ for Rangel

The Washington Post reported this afternoon that Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), chairman of the investigative subcommittee tasked with substantiating the claims of ethics violations against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), let slip that the subcommittee will recommend that Rangel face a “reprimand,” which the Post describes as “a mild form of punishment similar to that given to Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) when he was rebuked in 1997.”

This ranks lower than a high-level punishment like censure or expulsion and it requires a full House vote to approve it. It’s also just a recommendation, though one that the full ethics committee is likely to weigh heavily when coming to a decision in the fall.

Meanwhile, Rep. Green is busy apologizing to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairman of the House ethics panel, for revealing the subcommittee’s recommendation, telling The Hill that he “screwed up” by letting the cat out of the bag.