This morning—after last week's admonishment for an ethics violation involving a trip to the Caribbean—Harlem representative Charlie Rangel announced he'd temporarily step down from his powerful post on the House Ways and Means Committee. Despite a bad attitude throughout the process, he claimed that from the "very very beginning" he had "offered" to give up his chairmanship, but that now he had "sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her to grant me a leave of absence." As justification, Rangel said he was taking leave in order “to avoid my colleagues having to defend me” during their campaigns. He didn't take questions. more ›

After an ethics panel found he broke the rules, reports are swirling that scandal-plagued Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) will step down as the powerful chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. While some media outlets said Rangel would step down tonight, Rangel said he was still chairman, but as for tomorrow "I can’t make all those promises at my age." NBC News' Chuck Todd Tweeted, "Sources tell me after agreeing to step aside, Rangel now having 2nd thots; hence the defiant denial... but: Rangel was made aware that he does not have the votes to survive a floor vote tmro on whether he should keep the gavel." There have been questions about Rangel for years, from rent-stabilized apartments to apparent tax amnesia. more ›

Remember when State Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) was charged with allegedly assaulting his girlfriend so badly that she had a black eye and stitches? That was last December, and the next month, the State Senate stripped him of the extra money he received for chairing the Consumer Protection Committee and of the chairmanship itself. Monserrate was later indicted on felony assault charges (also maintaining his innocence), but that doesn't matter to the State Senate: The Daily News reports that his chairmanship and $12,500/year chairman's stipend was "quietly reinstated...State Senate sources say the check was cut after Monserrate was secretly reappointed to his position as chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee. Sources said the move to reinstate him was likely part of the deal to bring the Queens Democrat back into the fold after he sided with Republicans in the June 8 coup that paralyzed the Senate for a month." Excuse us—we need to take a shower. more ›

While the House of Representatives voted against a measure to strip Representative Charles Rangel of chairing the House Ways and Means Committee, House leaders are planning an investigation of Rangel's ethical issues--you know, the lack of reporting income on his returns, his rent-stabilized apartments, using House letterhead to solicit donations for a center being built in his name. This comes as his 1972 Mercedes Benz, long unused, was towed from a House parking garage! more ›