House Ethics Panel Expands Rangel Probe

Politico has the latest on the gathering clouds surrounding Ways and Means Committee Chair, Rep. Charlie Rangel:

Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.) is headed for more trouble as the House ethics committee announced Thursday it has expanded its investigation to include Rangel’s financial disclosure reports, which show hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously undeclared personal assets and income.

The growing investigation comes as Rangel continues to fight off Republican attempts to oust him from his chairmanship – the House voted largely along party lines on Wednesday to allow Rangel to keep his gavel while the ethics panel continues its months-long probe of the Harlem Democrat.

The ethics panel also disclosed Thursday that it has issued nearly 150 subpoenas as part of its year-long Rangel investigation, interviewed 34 witnesses and combed through thousands of pages of documents related to the New York Democrat’s personal finances. The vote to widen the already sprawling investigation was unanimous.

In July, Rangel quietly filed amended financial disclosure documents, going back to 2001, showing at least $600,000 in assets that he had never previously declared.

Read the whole thing here:

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Tags: Charlie Rangel, financial disclosure documents, House Ethics Committee, subpoenas, Ways and Means Committee
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 1:52 pm in Congress, News, Politics | 1460237 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/10/08/house-ethics-panel-expands-rangel-probe/House+Ethics+Panel+Expands+Rangel+Probe2009-10-08+20%3A52%3A21Publius

ALG Condemns House for Blocking Resolution Removing Rangel as Committee Chair

From Americans for Limited Government:

October 7th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned members of the House for voting to refer a resolution that would have removed Congressman Charlie Rangel as Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

“Once again, the Democrat-controlled House has voted to sweep outright corruption under the rug on behalf of a fellow party member who failed to report more than $1 million in outside income as required by House rules,” Wilson said.

“The least Congress can do is not have Rangel serving as Chairman of a committee that deals with taxes while an ‘ongoing’ ethics probe into his undisclosed income is taking place,” Wilson added.

The Resolution, proposed by Congressman John Carter, called for Rangel to be removed as Ways and Means Chairman until the Ethics Committee concludes its probe.

Instead, the House voted 246 to 153 to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee. “A vote to refer the Rangel resolution to the Ethics Committee was a vote against the resolution, plain and simple,” said Wilson. (more…)

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Tags: Americans for Limited Government, Bill Wilson, Charlie Rangel, House Ethics Committee, House Ways and Means Committee
Posted Oct 7th 2009 at 12:17 pm in Congress | 1413069 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/10/07/alg-condemns-house-for-blocking-resolution-removing-rangel-as-committee-chair/ALG+Condemns+House+for+Blocking+Resolution+Removing+Rangel+as+Committee+Chair+2009-10-07+19%3A17%3A43Publius