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Talking Points MemoTrouble isn't over yet for Rep. Charlie Rangel.
The New York Post reports that the Federal Elections Commission is investigating a complaint made against Rangel, alleging that he illegally used PAC funds to pay lawyers defending him in a House ethics investigation.
Rangel (D-NY) was censured last week by the House, the first member to receive such a punishment since 1983. The censure stemmed from an ethics committee investigation into a series of violations by Rangel, including failing to disclose income and soliciting donations for an educational center using official Congressional resources.
The investigation, requested by Rangel, took two years. Rangel said his legal fees topped $2 million and his lawyers left him before the ethics hearing because they were worried he couldn't pay additional fees. Rangel tried unsuccessfully to get his hearing postponed because he had no lawyers, arguing that he didn't know he could set up a legal defense fund until a few weeks before the trial.
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http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/report_fec_investigating_rangel_for_legal_fees.php