Representative Charles Rangel kept his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee after his fellow Democrats voted down a Republican-backed measure that would have removed him from his post. Rangel is the subject of a House ethics investigation, after reports of his four rent-stabilized apartments, use of House letterhead to solicit donations for a graduate center being named after him and various tax issues. The AP reports, "The House ethics committee voted to reauthorize a subcommittee of three Democrats and three Republicans to investigate Rangel, a New York Democrat who has served in Congress for nearly 40 years. The investigation began last year — at Rangel's request — but the subcommittee needed reauthorization because a new Congress was sworn in last month." more ›

The ongoing ethics investigation of local Congressman Charles Rangel appears to be going nowhere in a hurry. Today's Post talks to the head of an ethics watchdog group who says, "Four months after the investigations started, there is no investigative subcommittee, no public hearings, and no sign of any progress whatsoever." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had expected members of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct investigating by the end of the session which ended earlier this month. But since that did not happen, the process will only be delayed further now that three of the four members looking into were rotated off with a new session of Congress in place. The Post sounds eager to see the probe take place in swift fashion, possibly because they've played no small role in prompting the investigation to begin with. more ›

After the NY Times reported Rep. Charles Rangel helped preserve a tax loophole for an oil executive who donated $1 million to a school named after Rangel, Republicans are asking for a House Ethics Committee investigation. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) said, "Charlie Rangel needs to resign as Ways and Means Committee chairman," and nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said, "Representative Rangel’s ethics problems continue to mount, yet the ethics committee and the Democratic leadership remain silent." Rangel denied securing the tax break in return for the donation, but it seems his legal bills are likely to pile up. Speaking of, the Daily News reports that he fired his old lawyer, Clinton friend Lanny Davis because Davis's bills were really high! more ›

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.” more ›