There was a little bit of drama on Capitol Hill on Monday in the ethics trial for Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. Rangel, 80, simply walked out of the proceedings, saying he wasn't being treated fairly.

The ethics committee decided the trial should move forward, even though Rangel told them he didn't have an attorney to represent him.

"Fifty years of public service on the line -- I truly feel as if I'm not being treated fairly and that history will dictate that, notwithstanding the political calendar, I am entitled to a lawyer during this proceeding," he said.

The panel continued the hearing without the New York congressman in attendance.

Rep. Rangel is a war veteran, a 20-term congressman representing New York's famed Harlem neighborhood and a former chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He faces 13 charges of financial and fundraising violations.

Rangel said he has already spent $2 million on lawyers fees' and is going to have to pay another $1 million to be represented.

The congressman had sought a delay so he can establish a legal defense fund, but the ethics panel basically decided the 2 1/2-year-old case has gone on long enough.