UPDATE: From National Journal:

Weiner told them that he would not make a move until his wife Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, returned from her trip to Africa and the Middle East with Clinton. Abedin is expected back on Wednesday.

***

Anthony Weiner does not intend to resign right away, but is apparently seeking a leave of absence from Congress to attend sex rehab.  It looks like calls to resign from Nancy Pelosi and Debbie Wasserman Schultz were not persuasive to him.  If Pelosi isn’t enough, we can think of only one Democrat leader who could put a stop to this saga now: Barack Obama.  The President has been radio-silent on this issue thus far.  It might be time for him to offer his sage wisdom.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Rep. Anthony Weiner is asking for a temporary leave of absence from the House while he seeks professional treatment in the wake of his Twitter scandal.

A spokeswoman for the New York Democrat says he has left for professional treatment and will focus on “becoming a better husband and healthier person.”

Spokeswoman Risa Heller says Weiner wants the leave of absence so he can be evaluated and work out a course of treatment.

The statement doesn’t say what Weiner would be treated for.

Just before the statement, leading Democrats demanded that Weiner step down. (more…)

On Election Day, voters sent a clear message to Washington politicians: No more corruption. No more secrecy. And no more backroom deals that enable shady politicians to remain in power. But did that message reach Congress?

If we are to look at what happened to Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) last week as a guide, the answer is “yes” and “no.”

At the beginning of last week, it looked like Rangel might finally get his comeuppance. On Tuesday, the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct (commonly known as the House Ethics Committee) convicted Rangel on a series of corruption charges that “brought discredit to the House.” As reported in The Hill and many other press outlets, Rangel was convicted by a House Ethics panel on 11 counts of violating ethics rules.

The convictions are serious and demonstrate a serial tendency on the part of Rangel to abuse his congressional office for personal gain.

You can read the official report from the House Ethics Committee here. The following is a summary of what the committee said Rangel did wrong:

(more…)

From the Associated Press:

A House investigative panel has charged California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters with violating ethics rules.

Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, would face a trial in the fall unless she negotiates a settlement.

If the case goes to trial, Democrats would have the political headache of two ethics trials—one for Waters and another for Rep. Charles Rangel of New York.

The specific charges against Waters were not made public in the announcement Monday from the House ethics committee.

(more…)

From The Hill:

Democratic leaders and major party donors plan to hold a lavish 80th birthday gala for Charles Rangel at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan next month, despite 13 ethics charges pending against the veteran lawmaker.

Lobbyists and other party donors received invitations this week to join Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and New York Gov. David Paterson at one of New York’s finest hotels to celebrate Rangel’s birthday.

Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are also listed as featured guests, according to an invitation viewed by The Hill.

Some potential guests received the invitation a day after the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct issued a report accusing Rangel of multiple ethics violations.

(more…)

From CBS News:

New York Congressman Charles Rangel has reportedly cut a deal to admit to ethical wrongdoing and avoid a potentially humiliating public trial.

Harlem friends of Rangel tell CBS 2 they have been told that the details could be unveiled when the House Ethics Committee meets Thursday afternoon.

“Sixty years ago I survived a Chinese attack in North Korea and as a result I wrote a book saying that I hadn’t had a bad day since,” Rangel said. “Today I have to reassess that statement.” In a sense, Thursday is Charlie Rangel’s war. He is battling to preserve his legacy of 40 years of congressional service in the face of ethics charges that, at the very least, will subject him to a humiliating process of having to admit ethical wrong doing.

Just what he will admit to and how he will do it remains to be seen. The punishment remains to be seen as well, but sources tell CBS 2 that at the end of the day, Rangel is not expected to be thrown out of Congress and that he is expected to run for reelection to a 21st term.

(more…)

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:

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…)