Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) didn’t know what he was getting into when he stepped in front of the CNBC cameras early this morning. Hosts Mark Haines and Erin Burnett invited the congressman on the show to discuss why he backs legislation to disallow the AIG bonuses.
First, Mark and Aaron jumped on Rangel about changing the compensation plan for a company in the middle of the game. But after Rangel was given a chance to defend his actions by claiming that AIG employees “violated the public trust” and “destroyed the economy,” the fireworks began as the conversation took a turn as Mark Haines went after him with a vengeance about his own alleged tax problems.
Haines turned the conversation with this: “With all due respect, congressman, when you talk about violating the public trust, you’ve had some tax issues of your own.” And that’s when the real fun and games started.
We love it. Some in the mainstream media are starting to grow a pair.
