President Barack Obama calls the ethics charges against longtime Rep. Charlie Rangel "very troubling" and says he hopes Rangel can end his career with dignity.
"He's somebody who's at the end of his career," Obama said in an interview aired Friday on the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." "I'm sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens."
Obama praised Rangel for serving his constituents well but called the tax and disclosure charges against him "very troubling."
It was hardly an endorsement, but still came well short of the calls for resignation Rangel is getting from several House Democrats. Rangel is facing more than a dozen ethics charges.
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