After deliberating behind closed doors this afternoon, the House ethics panel has taken the advice of its counsel and recommended censure for Congressman Charles Rangel.
The matter now goes before the full House of Representatives.
Censure would require Rangel–the fourth-most senior member of the House–to stand in the chamber’s well and accept a public rebuke from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a prospect that surely appeals to neither of them. (They greeted each other warmly when Congress returned for a lame-duck session on Monday evening, with Rangel leaning over the front row of seats to give the Speaker a kiss on the cheek.)
The committee’s chairman, Zoe Lofgren, said its report will be posted on the committee’s website sometime this evening.
