U.S. Rep. Peter Welch is serving on a House Ethics Committee panel looking into ethics charges against New York Congressman Charles Rangel.
The House Ethics Committee has appointed Welch and seven other members of Congress to review charges that Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, improperly submitted donations to a library named for him and falsified statements on financial disclosures members of Congress are required to file.
A Welch aide says the congressman is barred by House rules from commenting on the Rangel investigation because his role is essentially that of a juror hearing evidence in the case.