So I Guess Charlie Rangel Is Voting for the FTA, Then
United States Congressman Charles B. Rangel received the Distinguished Order of Diplomatic Service from the Korean government on Korean-American Day (January 13) at the Colden Center for the Performing Arts theater, Queens College, New York. Congressman Rangel said that he was honored to receive the award and that his achievement is the achievement of all his Korean friends. The medal was awarded to him by the consul general in New York, Moon Bong-ju. It is given to non-Koreans who have made significant contributions to the diplomatic relationship between Korea and other countries. [link]
The Korea Herald, which describes Rangel as “a pro-South Korean politician in the United States,” also covers the story. Rangel served in the Korean War, where he was wounded. I’ve previously attacked Rangel’s implicit slur against U.S. military service members here.
You may be wondering: can congressmen accept awards from foreign governments? Yes, if the gifts are of nominal value, which for some unexplained reason translates to $260.
[T]he Constitution prohibits Government officials, including Members and employees of Congress, from receiving “any present . . . of any kind whatever” from a foreign state or a representative of a foreign government without the consent of the Congress. Congress has consented, through the vehicles of the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act (FGDA) and the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (MECEA) to the acceptance of certain gifts from foreign governments. The FGDA defines “foreign government” to include not only foreign governments per se, but also international or multinational organizations whose membership is composed of units of foreign governments, and any agent or representative of such a government or organization while acting as such. That Act also covers gifts from “quasi-governmental” organizations closely affiliated with, or funded by, a foreign government.
You can see who contributed to Rangel’s campaign here, and read his financial disclosure forms here. Nothing in the story or in the documents I link above suggests that Rangel received anything of value from Korea or Korean business entities, or did anything you could call improper here.
Rangel did take trips to Taiwan and Singapore, which appear in his disclosure forms. I don’t know who paid for those trips.
On the other hand, I’d be interested in any additional reliable information readers may provide, and I’ll watch with great interest to see just what happens after the FTA vote. On the other hand, Bob Novak reports some unrelated but disturbing conduct attributed to Rangel:
Both freelance and corporate lobbyists have received telephone solicitations for Rangel’s leadership PAC (political action committee), which distributes funds to Democratic congressional candidates who need them. Rangel is virtually unopposed in his Harlem district. The lobbyists, who give almost exclusively to Republicans, are told that the contribution would be “a nice gesture for Charlie.”
Rangel issued a statement that in his 42 years of state and federal legislative office, “campaign contributions have never been required or even suggested as a way to get access to me.”
To me, the most interesting info in Rangel’s PAC Contributor list was two $5,000 contributions — presumably the legal limit per person — from Donald Trump and his 19 year-old son, Donald Trump, Jr. Nothing else particularly stood out.