A defiant Rep. Charlie Rangel said yesterday his birthday-party fund-raiser at The Plaza next week is still on -- despite some nervous politicians who have backed out of the bash in the wake of his ethics woes.If he actually got a deal on "the facts" he'd already be in prison.
"It's not a birthday for them, it's a birthday party for me!" Rangel exclaimed after delivering a fiery speech defending his actions at a Columbia University business event sponsored by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.
Rangel also got a boost from Mayor Bloomberg, who aides said will attend the beleaguered congressman's 80th-birthday celebration Wednesday.
Bloomberg, listed as one of the sponsors of the fund-raiser, raised eyebrows when he recently suggested the event might be canceled in light of the 13 House ethics charges filed against Rangel.
Rangel was upbeat yesterday as he received rousing ovations from the Harlem faithful, who rallied around the 20-term congressman.
"Everyone here has go to the birthday party on the 11th -- even without Aretha Franklin," said former state Comptroller Carl McCall, who quipped that he's "available" to sing.
Franklin, the "Queen of Soul," was supposed to be the headline performer but canceled due to an injury.
For his part, Rangel said, "I want to thank you all . . . for supporting me during these trying times."
The two-year House ethics probe found a "pattern" of rule-breaking by Rangel, including a failure to report $1.7 million in personal assets over the years, not paying taxes in rental income from his Dominican villa, and using his office to raise money for a center named for himself at City College -- stories first reported in The Post.
The Harlem Democrat yesterday likened himself to a defendant being asked to confess to crimes he didn't commit and dismissed talk of a plea bargain as "English, Anglo-Saxon" procedure for criminal cases.
Democrats are pressuring Rangel to settle the ethics case because they worry a congressional trial held before the mid-term elections could cost them control of the House.
But Rangel said he would not be railroaded into accepting a settlement for things he didn't do.
"If you want to give me a deal, give me a deal on the facts, not a deal to make you comfortable," he said.
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