Saturday, June 11, 2011

Anthony finds an ethics defender . . . Rangel!

Weiner finds an ethics defender . . . Rangel!

By DAVID SEIFMAN

Last Updated: 6:00 AM, June 11, 2011

Posted: 1:31 AM, June 11, 2011

Anthony Weiner's got a friend in ethically challenged Rep. Charles Rangel.

"I know one thing: He wasn't going out with prostitutes, he wasn't going out with little boys, he wasn't going into men's rooms with broad stances," Rangel said yesterday, alluding to sex scandals involving Republican Sen. David Vitter, GOP Rep. Mark Foley and GOP Sen. Larry Craig.

"Of course not," Rangel replied when asked if he agreed with the host of fellow lawmakers calling for Weiner to quit. "Not one person has given any reason for resignation."

Rangel charged that Weiner was the victim of a double standard.

"Certainly I know immoral sex when I hear it from other [House] members and no one has screamed for their resignation, so I don't know why they're selecting Anthony," he said.

A House ethics panel found Rangel guilty last year of financial wrongdoing -- and Weiner was the only New York Democrat in the House to donate money from his campaign coffers to Rangel's legal defense.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi -- who Monday called for an ethics probe of Weiner -- yesterday declined to call for his resignation, saying the decision should be up to the shamed congressman and his constituents.

david.seifman@nypost.com

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