trey radel said the exact same thing, i'm struggling with alcoholism. his father talked to the press, his mother was an alcoholic. and he said i made a poor decision, extremely irresponsible choice, father of a young son, a loving wife, i need help. what is interesting there is, if you're a politician you make the distinction between the legal and the illegal. the excuse is, i was just abusing the legal one, and that led me astray -- >> look how the assumptions are used to continue the new jim crow. so when you want to do the rockefeller drug laws -- >> those are a set of laws in new york state that were incredibly hard around drugs. >> you can focus on the belief that crack cocaine is being used by black folks. when you want to get rid of food stamps, you can use the belief that only those people are using it. when you want to get rid of welfare, you can pretend that only young black mothers are using it. when you use these, you continue the new jim crow process talked about in that book. they can't even recognize it is a problem -- >> let me say one t

the cycle's trey. now the host of "up against the clock," steve kornacki. >> thank you studio audience, thank you, bill wolf, thank you contestants and everyone at home, welcome to a special edition this morning, the battle of the new yorker stars now you know the rules. we have three rounds of play. we have wrong answers that will cost you. there are a few instant bonuses scattered in these questions the studio audience as always, i beg you, please, no outburstst. with that, i will ask you, are you ready to play? >> absolutely. >> let's get this battle of the starsened way, let's put 100 seconds on the clock and start with the 100 point round, we go with this. after their intrafamily dispute was publicly aired this week, mary cheney said she is not supporting her sister liz's campaign. >> correct. 100 points for trey. after pleading guilty. >> trey radel. >> someone came to play. 100 point question. among the 16 americans on whom president obama bestowed the presidential med am of freedom on wednesday

. >> congressman trey radel takes a leave of absence. the former republican stepping aside after pleading guilty to cocaine possession. >> so guilty in your mind of nothing. >> i feel like i should be there opening day. >> a-rod. he walks out of a hearing on his drug suspension and president obama gives 16 extraordinary americans the nation's highest civilian award. captioning funded by cbs >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, november 21st, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, congressman trey radel says he let down his country, his family, and his constituents. radel pleaded guilty to drug possession but is not resigning from congress. instead he's taking a year off effective immediately. susan mcginnis from washington. susan, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. radel said he wants to continue serving his country. on wednesday he said he struggles with drugs and alcohol abuse and says he sees this charge as an opportunity to get help. late last night congressman trey radel apologized f

. >>> republican congressman trey radle needs treatment as he pleaded guilty to possession of cocained the court shall it -- we're going to his prose conference right now. >> i'm sorry. i have no excuse for what i've done. i am not going to sit here and try and make any excuses for what i've done. i have let down our country. i've let down our constituents. i've let down my family. including my wife, even though he doesn't know t i've let down my 2-year-old son. i'm here tonight to take responsibility for what i've done. to be held accountable for the bad decisions that i made in my life, and to own up to my actions. i have been getting the help that i need, and i will continue to get the help that i need, and the support system that i need for years to come. i'm doing so because i want to be a better man. i want to be a better man for you. i want to be a better man for southwest florida, and most importantly i want to be a better man for my family, my dad, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my wife, and my little guy. i will be taking a leave of absence. during that i'm going to don

congressman trey ratel will be a raped on charges he possessed cocaine. "usa today" reports the florida republican bought the cocaine from a dealer who had been previously caught. the d.a. then set up a sting. in a statement he apologized to his family and added his battle with alcoholism led him to what he called a, quote, extremely irresponsible choice. he faces 180 days in prison and $1,000 fine. >>> we move on to a bizarre and tragic story out of virginia. a prominent state lawmaker is in fair condition after a brutal attack. police believe his 24-year-old son did it. officers were called tuesday to the home of state senator deeds. he had been stabbed numerous times and his son gus was found dead of an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound. gus was a constant figure on the campaign trail in 2009 during his dad's run for governor. police say right now it all points to an attempted murder-suicide. a health official told the richmond times dispatch that gus had been admitted to a local hospital for a mental evaluation on monday and was later released. >>

speaking to reporters from his office, a contrite trey radel apologized and announced he is taking a leave of absence. >> i'm sorry. i have no excuse for what i've done. i have let down our country. i've let down our constituents. i've let down my family. >> reporter: during the news conference, radel admitted he has been struggling with alcoholism and substance abuse on and off for years. the florida republican and tea party favorite, pleaded guilty to cocaine possession after being nabbed in the federal sting. the charges, radel was charged to a year's probation. florida democrats are canningster his asking for his resignation. supporters are already rallying behind him. >> should he resign? absolutely not. he's going to come out a better person for this. and i believe that people in southwest florida are going to benefit from that. >> smart, hard-working, dedicated, loyal, strong. trey supporters believe he can fight through this, he can get better and he should stay in office because he worked so hard for southwest florida. >> reporter: during his leave of absence, radel says he

should trey redel be allowed to continue to serve as a congressman. a for yes, b for no to 67622 or go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring the results later in the show. and one more thing. ask yourself the question if you're a conservative. is this american exceptionalism? conservatives love to talk about american exceptionalism. part of being exceptional is taking responsibility and stepping out. but this guy is void of leadership. and he'll be protected. yeah, there's not going to be any right wing talkers out there that are going to think this guy needs to get out. it's just cocaine. just breaking the law. that's all it is. not a big deal. point being here, there is infrastructure to protect people like this. for more, let's bring in talk radio consultant, holland cook and media consultant. good to have you tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> your reaction to trey redel's arrest and how this could play out in the sound culture. i lived in washington for 12 years so i got called up for jury duty a couple times. and one of them was a drug bust

. >> republican trey radel. >> jon: trey radel was partying with chuck hagel and elena kagan. there any signs? >> the congressman admitted his favorite vacation spot was cartagena, colombia. [ laughter ] >> jon: were there any signs? anything? anything that could have tipped us off that he was a cocaine user? anything you found? anything? >> radel who calls himself a hip-hop conservative. [ laughter ] >> jon: a hip-hop conservative -- that can't go together. they can't -- i'm a hip-hop conservative -- you can't be. i'm a smooth jazz anarchist. i'm a disco nazi. you can't -- it doesn't -- how are you a hip-hop conservative. >> he breaks down what he says is the conservative message behind public enemies fight the power. >> if you really get down to it in my ways reflects the conservative message of having a heavy handed federal government. >> jon: it has nothing to do with that. i guess flava flav is wear age debt clock. is that what that is? and too live crew is an ode to traditional marriage. i guess we can get his new book "i do not understand rap music. we're all human, we

>> republican trey radel of florida today pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. >> he purchased three and a half grams of cocaine from an undercover officer. >> the tea party favorite represents florida's 19th district. >> stephen: yes, this rising tea party star was caught in a coke bust. apparently he forgot the part of the tea party story where you dump the product in the harbor before the cops show up. folks, personally, i hate to lose a congressman so fiscally conservative that i'm sure he snorted his blow through a $1 bill. and so committed to family values, folks, that he actually voted to drug test people who receive food stamps ( booing ) no, no, no. he's not a hypocrite. because he doesn't get food stamps from the government. just his paycheck. but you know what i can't say i'm surprised. i'm been on the cocaine congress beat since robert wexler told me this. >> i enjoy cocaine because it's the fun thing to do. ( applause ) ( laughter ). >> stephen: what is it with florida congressmen? i mean, there must be something in the water down there. and i'm guessing it's cocaine. (

trey radel spoke about the scandal for the first time last night., here's abc's pierre thomas. >> will you make a statement, sir? >> reporter: congressman radle took the walk no politician wants to take, the walk of shame as he left court after pleading guilty to cocaine possession. a long distance from the hallowed halls of congress from a first term conservative who pushed for drug testing for people on food stamps. >> we stand up and say our society is not about i in the federal government about we the people. >> his cocaine dealer told dea and fbi agents he was a regular customer. on october 29th, they set up a sting outside of this upscale restaurant in washington's dupont circle. radel bought $260 worth of cocaine from undercover agents. later that night, authorities told him he just bought drugs from an undercover federal agent. radel threw himself on the mercy of the court saying, your honor, i apologize for what i have done. i've hit the bottom. >> i've let down our country. i've let down our constituents. i've let down my family. including

representative trey radel of florida, a freshman congressman was arrested as part of an undercover sting operation. our justice correspondent has more on how he came to the attention of authorities, and how he got caught. >> reporter: congressman trey radel walked into a washington, d.c. courthouse as the first member of congress ever pleading guilty for cocaine. he was caught, authorities say, because a member of a drug ring that was under federal investigation told agents that a congressman was a repeat customer. so they set up a sting. here's how prosecutors say it happened. congressman radel met with an undercover police officer at this restaurant in the dupont circle neighborhood and agreed to buy 3.5 grams of cocaine for $260. here's what 3.5 grams of baking powder looks like. they went to the undercover police officer's car, back out on the street federal drug agents moved in. he is a former radio talk show host, and anchorman in florida. >> i don't want my son growing up in a bankrupt nation. >> reporter: his hard fought battle ended with victory from tea party members. the flori

henry trey raydull brought cocaine from an undercover officer. he was sentenced to one year's probation. he'll donate his salary to charity whilst undergoing counselling. >> the philippines government looks for ways to help the 4 million people left homeless by typhoon haiyan. how volunteers are reaching out to the youngest survivors. the troubled health care website eroding support for barack obama and his party. how tea party candidates are looking to use that to their advantage. >>> funerals were held wednesday in lebanon for victims of a suicide attack. the exclusions tuesday at the iranian embassy killed 24. as our correspondent reports the attack raises fears that the syrian war is spreading to lebanon. >> a woman alone with her grief and dozens of civilians grieved by a bombing bringing the war closer to the war in syria. her husband rushed to see if he could help as the first bomb detonated. he was a short distance from the second suicide bomber in a car when it blew up. nothing remains of his body. his wife's search retrieves a wrist wat

trey radel speaks out for the first time. >>> a. rod's rage. he storms out of a grievance history. he said he's disgusted with the abusive process. >>> designer dog. is this the perfect face? >>> plus, the food that lengthens your life span, stamps out heart disease and cancer while making you slimmer. >>> and women who have accomplished the near impossible. "early today" starts right now. >>> this is "early today" for thursday, november 21st. >>> good morning. i'm richard lui. overnight congressman trey radel arrived in florida hours after he pleaded guilty to buying cocaine and was sentenced to a year of probation. he is taking a leave of absence from congress and apologized. he said he'd enter what he calls intensive inpatient treatment. >> i have been getting the help that i need and i will continue to get the help that i need and the support system that i need for years to come. i believe in forgiveness and redemption. and i hope if there is anything positive that can come out of this and i know there will be positive that comes out of this, it's that i hope that i can be a ro

congressman trey radle pleaded guilty earlier today to cocaine possession.ing to reporters from ft. myers, florida. >> i'm sorry. i have no excuse for what i've done. and i'm not going to sit here and try to make any excuses for what i've done. i've let down our country, i've let down our constituents, i've let down my family, including my wife. and even though he doesn't know it, i've let down my 2-year-old son. i'm here tonight to take responsibility for what i did, to be held accountable for the bad decisions that i made in my life, and to own up to my actions. i have been getting the help they need. and i will continue to get the help that i need and the support system that i need for years to come. i'm doing so because i want to be a better man. i want to be a better man for you, i want to be a better man for southwest florida. and most importantly i want to be a better man for my family. my dad, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my wife and my little guy. i will be taking a leave of absence during that time i'm going to donate my salary to a charity.

we expect to hear from trey radel later tonight. he'll hold a news conference from his office in florida. radel told a judge he bought 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover police officer. darcy spencer was in court there today and joins us with more. >> it's safe to say very few people expected him to walk into court and plead guilty and to be sentenced right away. one independent attorney says he doesn't think he got special treatment. he says low level buyers aren't usually the targets of federal undercover operations. it was here at the circa restaurant that trey radel bought cocaine from an undercover cop last month. today he rushed past camera crews to a d.c. courtroom where he pleaded guilty to a cocaine possession charge. standing quietly next to his attorney, he admitted he bought cane on a d.c. street last month. he said, i apologize for what i've done. i've hit a bottom where i realize i need help. the first term republican congressman could have been put behind bars for up to six months on the misdemeanor charge. he es

trey radel from florida pleaded guilty on wednesday to cocaine possession.rter in an emotional news conference he has hit bottom and take a leave of absence to seek treatment. >> i have let down our country. i've let down our constituents. i've let down my family, including my wife and even though he doesn't know it, i've let down my 2-year-old son. i have been getting the help that i need and i will continue to get the help that i need and the support system that i need for years to come. >> radel is not stepping down to the disappointment of some who say that he should. radel was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $250. his word will be wiped clean so long as he stays out of trouble. it is not clear how long he will be absent from congress but radel plans to donate his salary to charity and he told the judge he will come out of this a stronger man. >>> we are finding out more this morning about the stab of a prominent politician in virginia. state senator creigh deeds continues to struggle after a fight that left him injured and his son dead of a s

. >> congressman trey gowdy, member of the house oversight judiciary committees. he chairs the immigration and border security subcommittee. congressman, great to have you with us. let's start with, if we may, obama care. this president lied. his administration lied. and persisted over a period of more than three years in maintaining the fiction that people could keep their insurance plans if they chose. your reaction? >> well, i hate it for my fellow citizens, but there were lots of voices warning that what he was saying was just not going to be a true or a lie or mendacious or whatever synonym you want to use. and that's not the only mischaracterization. your premiums are going to be higher, and your coverage is going to be worse. you would think at a certain point, politics aside, that people would get tired to by being lied to by people in positions of power whether that's the president, the head of the nas, the attorney general, but we had an election a couple years ago, and the calls in part, he perpetrated this myth, he was re-elected. >> and speaking of my

florida congressman trey radel says he's hit bottom and needs help. he's taking a leave of absence while in rehab. radel did not resign. he also did not mention drugs during his news conference wednesday. but he did admit to cocaine possession in a d.c. court. he has been sentenced to one year probation and fined $250. >>> we're learning this morning about a rare drone strike in northwest pakistan outside a remote tribal region. the suspected u.s. drone strike killed five people, including three afghan militants. pakistani police say the missiles hit an islamic seminary known to be visited by the senior members of a network, a close ally of the taliban. >>> janet yellen likely one step closer to becoming the first woman to lead the federal reserve. they are expected to back the nomination and pass her confirmation to the full senate for a vote. that vote likely to come in december. if confirmed, yellen, the current vice-chair would replace ben bernanke in january. >>> are you a thrill seeker? you might want to check this out. this is a new water slide

that was steve colbert on trey radel, the first member of congress to plead charguilty to charges of coke potion while in charge. he's also known as a hip-hop conservative, a title he destrowed upon himself. he credited his love of hip-hop and gangster rap for his more rubellious side. take a look at this interview he gave last spring. >> is there a lyric or a song that explains how you feel about the situation in washington right now? >> the first one that i would have to refer to would be fight to power by public enemy. this is a song that came out, really, if you really get down to it, in many ways reflects the conservative message. i think at the end of the day, and this is where i take my love of hip-hop music, of where you can see there have been issued and problems with heavy-handed, either law inforcement like the department of justice we have seen with the a.p., or heavy-handed government in itself. >> earlier today, radel checked into rehab. >>> speaking of drug use, embattled toronto mayor rob ford got a tribute from ron burgundy. will ferrell went on conan and remains in

. >> congressman trey radel arrived in court to face a misdemeanor cocaine charge. the dea says radel bought cocaine from an undercover agent october 29th t nor fafrom the capitol. a sting operation was set up. >> cellphone video owshs the flolent ensce siinde a third oor hallway at overbrohiok gh tehool auds st entslebatt and rsacheth wili poce try to restore order. the disturbance officials say was sparked by a fight over a weekend posting on social media. >> cheaper gasoline lowered overall consumer prices slightly in october. u.s. gas prices fell in the spring and reached a two year low. nationwide the average price of a gallon of regular is $3.20. >> toyota plans to center a hydrogen fuel cell car on u.s. roads by 2015. it's expected to sell for between 50 and $100,000. >> president obama presented one of his predecessors with the country's highest civilian honor, the medal of freedom. he also highlighted oprah winfrey's not changing her name. >> early in oprah's career her bosses told her she should change her name to susie. i got the same advice. >>> senator

speaking out, representative trey radel expressed regret. he bought cocaine from an undercover officer in washington, d.c. last month. a judge sentenced him to one year of probation on the misdemeanor charge. >> i'm sorry. i have no excuse for what i've done and i'm not going to sit here and try to make excuses for what i've done. >> he will donate his salary to charity while undergoing team for addiction. >> charges have been dropped against two girls accused of bullying a classmate who later killed herself. the charges were dismissed against them in florida on wednesday. they were charged last month after a 12-year-old school mail committed suicide. the attorney fart 12-year-old wants an apology. >> we have a wrong way of dealing with certain problems and i think by arresting a child and accusing her and going on national television and saying that she's responsible for the death of her exbest friend is unson thennable. >> the teens have been charged with aggravated stalking, which is a felony. >> illinois is the 16th state to legalize sam

. >>> congressman trey radel will take a leave of absence as he undergoes enpatient addiction treatment before the announcement coming in the wake of his arrest in a federal drug sting. yesterday the first term republican pleaded guilty to buying 3.5 grams of cocaine. he was sentence to one year of probation and a $250 fine on the misdemeanor charge. >> i have no excuse for what i've done. and i'm not going to sit here and try to make any excuses for what i've done. sometimes in life you you need a wake-up call. this is my wake-up call. i've been struggling with this, but i've had my wake-up call. and i now know what i need. i need to take responsibility, own up to the sdegss that i've made, and move forward. >> radel's father by the way tells the cincinnati inquirer that radel met with top republicans including speaker boehner who urged the congressman not to resign. the editorial board in his district however says he must step aside. >>> the kennedy cousin in press on for the murder of a teen amgd girl is poised to be released pending a new trial. earlier this month he won an appeal i

trey radel is promising to get treatment after pleating guilty.digging into the story. joe, what's going on? >> this is an up-and-coming congressman in the house majority, his guilty plea to cocaine possession got him a year of probation, though if he completes it, he won't even have a conviction. now radel says he's headed for rehab, all as a result of an encounter with an acquaintance and undercover officer which set him up with just 3.5 grams of dough contain a few miles away from the capitol. a law enforcement source said they met at circa restaurant on dupont circle. court papers say he -- they declined, but the undercover officer did say he had cocaine for sale. they agreed on a price, went outside and federal agents approached the congressman. the leadership was careful, say radel needs to focus on his family and get better, but he's sure to get hid from the other side. sloan said the so-called hip-hop conservative needs to go. multimall sources say officials were kept in the loop in the case, as the standard procedure, the set upwas made b

trey is going through a tough time. my prayers and my wife's prayers are with him and his family but we have to hold him to the high es standards. >> that private hospital network just happens to have admitted to 14 felonies and then a had to pay what were by far the largest medicare fraud settlements in american history, $1.7 billion worth of them. i think rick scott has zero standing to criticize radel's -- here's my reaction. i'm torn between rage of democracy and some passion for someone who's going through some serious substance issues. >> i have great compassion for anyone who has substance abuse issues. >> bill maher seemed to be referencing that discussion when he said this on his show. >> i heard two esteemed liberal commentators and they said i have compassion for an adiblg. okay, nancy reagan, can i get something straight here, just because somebody does a drug doesn't mean they're an adiblg. >> i actually agree with bill maher. i think this is an important teachable moment. so let's be clear, the use of ille

that was stephen colbert on trey radel.st member of congress ever to plead geelt cocaine possession while in office. i guess there's a first for everything. but as it turns out radel's also the first congressman to be known as a hip pop conservative. a title he bestowed upon himself back in july. he credits it for his more rebellious side and look at politics. look at this interview that he gave last spring. >> is there a lyric or a song that explains how you feel about the situation in washington? >> you know, the first one that i would have to refer to would be fight the power by public enemy. this is a song that came out, really, if you really get down to it, in many ways reflects the conservative message. i think at the end of the day and this is where i take my love of hip hop music, of where you can see where there have been issues and problems with heavy handed either law enforcement like the department of justice like we've seen right now or heavy handed government in and of itself. >> earlier today radel checked in

. >>> congressman charged trey radel after they say he bought cocaine from am undercover agent. >>> and a new way to find the perfect fit. >> boot cut wash and they fit from every angle. captioning funded by cbs the problem weren't enough. >> there's no doubt that we've lost some time, but the website's getting better each week. by the end of this month, it will be functioning for the majority of people who are using it. and so i think that we're going to have time to catch up. >> there were several congressional hearings yesterday on the issue. nancy cordes has more on the investigation and the report that warned of big problems with the site. >> reporter: with startling fore site the consulting firm predicted more than six months ago that the rollout would be involved with evolving requirements, insufficient end time, end to end testing and significant deficiencies. >> this report lays out the chaos that was going on, but these -- all of this information was known within the white house recommend mckinsey was hired by the administration to do the review and interviewed 40 people invol

back in 2012 congressman trey gowdy grilled h.h.s. secretary kathleen sebelius on that very issue. >> don't awe agree with me that government can't enforce religious beliefs on its citizens. >> yes, sir. >> why can't they not do that. >> why can government not force religious beliefs? >> yeah. what's the basis of that. >> the separation of church and state. >> well, it's the constitution, right? , the first amendment. can government decide which religious beliefs are acceptable and not acceptable? >> no, sir. >> and why can they not do that? >> it's part of our constitution. >> congressman trey gowdy joins us now. congressman, kathleen sebelius mentioned the constitution. but it it seemed like this administration has a pretty perverse interpretation of what the constitution means. they believe that everyone has a right or women should have the right to reproductive care and contraception. but, isn't the constitution there to protect people's religious beliefs? >> yes, it is. you wouldn't expect kathleen sebelius to know that because s

congressman trey radel, a florida congressman, was charged with possession of cocaine.a possible sentence of 180 days. the freshman lawmaker has apologized in a statement. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash joins us now with the latest. dana, what's the latest we know about this arrest, how it unfolded because it happened late last month. we are just finding out about it now. >> it's surprising that the arrest did happen two weeks ago. it didn't get out. it was a scene out of the tv show "the house of cards." but we know now, because the charges were filed today and he's due in the d.c. superior court tomorrow, he should appear there. >> i understand the congressman released a statement. what is he saying? >> well, he's not denying it. he's not denying using cocaine or being charged or arrested for possessing it and he's apologizing to his constituents for letting them down, letting his family down and he as announced that he's an alcoholic. let me read a statement that he put out. he said i struggle with the disease of alcoholism and this led to an extreme

. >> republican trey radel, will answer to charges today in a washington, d.c. courtroom. he already has a message for the voters back home. >> i'm a conservative. >> reporter: overnight, comments flooding the facebook page of first-term florida congressman trey radel. after he posted an apology saying, i am disappointed in myself. and i stand ready to face the consequences of my actions. radel is charged with misdemeanor cocaine possession. he was arrested last month in an fbi sting. and is set to be arraigned today. the 37-year-old blames his struggle with alcoholism for leading him to, quote, a irresponsible choice. his story drawing comparisons to embattled toronto mayor, rob ford. >> i'm not an addict of any sort. >> reporter: radel was elected last year. telling cnn -- >> i just want to do something to be able to help. >> reporter: in a recent interview, he said his favorite vacation spot outside of florida is cartagena, colombia. and he's known for his love of hip-hop music. >> public enemy "bring the noise," is one of my favorite tracks. >> reporter: voters are alr

. >>> florida's trey radel is taking responsibility for his actions, but that did not include stepping down from office. what he said he will do instead to make up for that cocaine bust and did you see this story? after 12 days a-rod storms right out of the hearings with the arbitrators. what he says was the last straw. stay with us. 0%! i can't get her to warp. losing thrusters. i need more power. give me more power! [ mainframe ] located. ge deep-sea fuel technology. a 50,000-pound, ingeniously wired machine that optimizes raw data to help safely discover and maximize resources in extreme conditions. our current situation seems rather extreme. why can't we maximize our... ready. ♪ brilliant. let's get out of here. warp speed. ♪ warp speed. i started part-time, now i'm a manager.n. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month. i got education benefits. i work at walmart. i'm a pharmacist. sales associate. i manage produce. i work in logistics. there's

congressman trey radel was charged with possession of cocaine. sentence of 180 days. he apologized in a statement. dana bash joins us now with the latest. dana, what's the latest we know about this arrest, how it unfolded because it happened late last month. we are just finding out about it now. >> it's surprising that the arrest did happen two weeks ago. it didn't get out. it was a scene out of the tv show "the house of cards." the charges were filed today and he should be due in court tomorrow. >> i understand the congressman released a statement. what is he saying? >> he's not denying it. he's not denying using cocaine or being charged or arrested for possessing it and he's apologizing to his constituents for letting them down, letting him family down and announced he's an alcoholic. lead me read you part of the statement. he said i struggle with the disease of alcoholism and this led to an extremely irresponsible choice as the father of a young son and a husband to a loving wife, i need to get help so i can be a better man for both of them. >

trey radel is a freshman u.s. congressman from florida.e pled guilty today to a possible cocaine conviction. he faced a possible sentence of up to 180 days in prison but got probation instead. his arrest in october only came to light yesterday as the rest had been filed. over the last few weeks his lawyers have been cutting a deal with federal prosecutors in a statement yesterday, radel apologized saying he struggles with alcoholism. he's only been in washington for over ten months, apparently long enough to establish drug connections. he was busted during a string operation after a dealer ratted him out. joe johns has details. >> reporter: saying nothing, the florida congressman headed in to face charges, his guilty plea weeks after trey radel was caught in a sting operation in october. the drug enforcement administration setting him up after learning about illegal activities from an arrested drug dealer. a law enforcement source said here on dupont circle in the heart of washington d.c. radel told the men he had drugs back at his apartme

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by the way, trey radel cannot be his real name. when it comes to the voter roles, he'll be fined. a moment, he clearly does have problems, mental problems, addiction problems, whatever they are. politicians do -- they are human. they do have problems. the question is whether you have any compassion to voters before you admit your problems. i don't know about the mayor of toronto, but this tea party crowd has not shown any compassion to anyone gaining government benefits. if you're going to get your freedom fries in the congressional cafeteria, you, too, maybe should be drug tested. >> in florida, they wanted to drug test state workers because they dislike them almost as much as the poor. >> and to be clear, this is a guy who has the resources to deal with this versus -- >> exactly. the people that need the most compassion and need the actual resources are the people precisely they're trying to strip. all right. on that note of indignation, we're going to leave it there. thank you to alex, jared, joy, and richard. that's all for now. see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern. "and