Results tagged “houseethicscommittee”

Inquiries are being made both internally and externally following yesterday's report of Charles Rangel's latest tax headache--this time surrounding questions of Rangel taking an "homestead" tax break on his D.C. home by claiming it was his primary residence--while primarily residing in Harlem at the time. The Post reports that watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center is filing a House Ethics Committee complaint against the congressman. And Rangel's own lawyer announced that his (in)famous accountant will review the situation, telling the Times, “The New York Post has raised a question about the tax treatment of a property the Rangels once owned. The property was sold more than eight years ago and we have asked Congressman Rangel’s accountant to retrieve the records about it.”

While they're not trying to, uh, agree on a bailout plan for financial firms, two Democrats and two Republicans are investigating Representative Charles Rangel for the House Ethics Committee. The Post reports that Rangel has "crossed paths" with the four men, not surprising given how long he's served. And his relations with them range from Rangel contributing to one's campaign fund (that would be Gene Green, D-Texas) to someone who has wanted an investigation into the Harlem congressman for a while (Doc Hastings, R-Washington). And on Tuesday, the Washington Post said Rangel should stay put, as the ethics committee gets working, "If it's death by a thousand cuts, [then Rangel] has 994 to go."

The House Ethics Committee voted to begin an inquiry on Representative Charles Rangel's actions. Rangel's use of Congressional letterhead to solicit donations for a center being built in his honor, multiple rent-stabilized apartments, unreported income from a second home, and other unreported income from property sales have put the powerful Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee under the microscope (in many of the cases, Rangel has pleaded ignorance). Rangel's lawyer said, "We look forward to fully cooperating with the ethics committee, which we had previously asked to look into these matters. We hope and trust that the ethics committee will find that Mr. Rangel has done nothing intentionally wrong, which we firmly believe.”