Gibbs: `Some very serious charges' against Rangel

WASHINGTON (AP) - White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledges there are "some very serious charges" against powerful Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel.

Gibbs says the House ethics committee is taking the right course in handling allegations against the New York lawmaker. He says the White House doesn't want to make a judgment about the case before the committee decides what to do.

Gibbs says no one at the White House - from President Barack Obama on down - has spoken to Rangel about the ethics matter. He defends the Democrats' record on ethics reform - and says it's a record the president and his party are happy to put before voters.

Gibbs appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America," CBS' "The Early Show" and CNN's "American Morning."