Rangel to Step Down From Ways and Means

[Reba]

- FOXNews.com

- March 03, 2010
Rangel to Step Down From Ways and Means Post Amid Ethics Probe

Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel announced Wednesday that he plans to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee amid a wide-ranging ethics probe.

Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel announced Wednesday that he plans to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee amid a wide-ranging ethics probe.

The announcement came as Republicans readied a formal resolution to strip the Harlem Democrat of his chairmanship, and as several Democrats began to peel away and call for Rangel to step down from his leadership post.

The New York Democrat made clear that he initiated the move. He said he sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday morning asking her to grant him a "leave of absence" until the ethics committee investigation into his activities is completed. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., is expected to succeed him.

Rangel, whose autobiography is titled "I Haven't Had a Bad Day Yet," stood by that declaration Wednesday, albeit not as firm.

"I haven't had a bad day yet," he said. "But it's been close."

Rangel spent the last week defying calls for him to step down. He adamantly denied reports Tuesday that he was planning to step aside, telling reporters who asked whether he would stay in his position, "You bet your life on it. And I don't lie to the press."

Rangel said Wednesday that he turned around "in view of the fact that my chairmanship is bringing so much attention to the press, and in order to avoid my colleagues having to defend me during their elections."

Though Rangel described his departure as temporary, his return is not guaranteed. House rules dictate that the entire chamber would have to approve any attempt to re-assume the post.

Rangel's letter to Pelosi, who was noncommittal about Rangel's future Tuesday, was brief.

"I respectfully request a leave of absence from my duties and responsibilities as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means until such time as the Committee on Standards completes findings on the review currently underway," he wrote.

Pelosi said in a written statement she will "honor" the request. "I commend Chairman Rangel for his decades of leadership on jobs, health care, and the most significant economic issues of the day," she said.

But House Republican Leader John Boehner said Wednesday that Rangel should not be part of the Democratic leadership at all.

"You are either the chairman or you are not," he said.

The House ethics committee issued Rangel a formal "admonishment" last Thursday for accepting donations from a private corporation to pay for two trips to Caribbean. The ethics panel has not yet weighed in on a host of other probes it launched into the congressman's conduct starting in 2008. Those ethics complaints include his failure to pay taxes on a villa in the Dominican Republic, his use of congressional stationary to help raise money for City College of New York and his improper storage of a broken-down Mercedes Benz in a House garage.

Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., on Tuesday became the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to demand that Rangel resign as Ways and Means chairman.

"Representative Rangel has had a long and distinguished career and I respect his leadership. But I believe Congress needs to do more to restore the public trust," Davis said in a statement obtained by Fox News. "An Ethics Committee admonishment is a serious event and Representative Rangel should do the right thing and step aside as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee."

Davis went on to say that he "will consider returning the $1,000 contribution he made to my 2008 re-election campaign."

Davis is running for governor of Alabama and is not standing for re-election to the House this fall.

Republicans have tried several efforts to relieve Rangel of his chairmanship over the past two years, but the wave of Democrats supporting their cause appeared to give it more weight this time around.

"If this was only (the Republicans), he would be fine," said a senior Democratic aide who asked not to be identified. "This is the other shoe."

Though House Republicans are still undecided about whether to proceed with their resolution, that's not stopping the party from getting mileage out of the Rangel announcement. The National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday sent out an e-mail drawing attention to Democratic candidates, namely Ohio Rep. John Boccieri, holding onto donations raised with Rangel's help.

Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Wednesday that it was "appropriate" for Rangel to step down but suggested the motive was purely political.

"By forcing Rep. Rangel out, Democrats undercut Republican efforts to portray them as soft on ethics, the very strategy that returned Democrats to the majority in the 2006 elections," she said in a written statement.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

FOXNews.com - Rangel to Step Down From Ways and Means Post Amid Ethics Probe

 

[saywhatkid]

......Though House Republicans are still undecided about whether to proceed with their resolution, that's not stopping the party from getting mileage out of the Rangel announcement. The National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday sent out an e-mail drawing attention to Democratic candidates, namely Ohio Rep. John Boccieri, holding onto donations raised with Rangel's help.

Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Wednesday that it was "appropriate" for Rangel to step down but suggested the motive was purely political.....

Is there ever anything coming out of Washington that is not a party issue? I copied what I felt pretty much sums it up.

Go to the corner Charlie, no cookies for you.

 

[TXgolfer]

..
WASHINGTON — Representative Charles B. Rangel said on Wednesday that “cultural and language barriers” had hindered him from understanding the finances of his Dominican Republic beach house, and vowed to repay several thousand dollars in federal taxes he owes after failing to report $75,000 in rental income from the villa.


David Kocieniewski/The New York Times
A view out the door of Representative Charles B. Rangel’s villa in the Dominican Republic.
At a Capitol Hill news conference, during which he was by turns remorseful and combative, the congressman said that he had not been aware of the income and unpaid taxes in part because he had trouble getting detailed financial statements from the resort’s managers in the Dominican Republic.

“Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they’d start speaking Spanish,” Mr. Rangel said.

The explanation was greeted with skepticism and surprise by some people in his district, where Spanish is the primary language in nearly half the households and even Mr. Rangel’s own Congressional Web site can be instantly translated to Spanish with just two clicks of a computer mouse.

The congressman brushed aside calls that he step down as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and accused Republicans who have demanded that he do so of trying to exploit his financial missteps.

“I really don’t believe making mistakes means you have to give up your career,” said Mr. Rangel, a Democrat from Harlem.

Mr. Rangel, a lawyer who has been a member of the tax-writing committee for three decades, has found himself on the defensive in recent months because of disclosures about the villa, his use of Congressional stationery to solicit financial support for a City University center that will bear his name and his rent-stabilized apartments in Upper Manhattan.

At the news conference, Mr. Rangel said that he had asked the House ethics committee to investigate the issues surrounding the villa, which include his failure to pay taxes on the rental income and the resort developer’s decision to waive the interest on a mortgage extended to him to buy the home. He had previously requested that the committee examine his rent-stabilized apartments and his fund-raising for the City University center.

The congressman also released copies of documents he has submitted to the committee and pledged to apologize to the public and fellow members of Congress if he was found to have violated House rules.

“I personally feel I have done nothing morally wrong,” he said. Pressed by reporters about how, given his position and background, he could be ignorant of the tax rules, he answered: “I never had any idea that I got any income.”

Mr. Rangel bought the beachfront house at the Punta Cana resort and club in 1988. The resort, with tennis courts, a 1,500-acre nature preserve, golf and a marina, has emerged as one of the most desirable in the Caribbean, attracting celebrity investors like Oscar de la Renta and Julio Iglesias and high-profile guests like former President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Rangel said on Wednesday that he had never used the home more than four days in any calendar year. He said he had occasionally let other members of Congress stay at his villa for honeymoons or holidays, but declined to name them.

The news conference, which drew about 50 reporters, lasted for more than an hour, and while Mr. Rangel was contrite in accepting responsibility for his errors, he also displayed some of the cantankerousness that has marked his four decades in office,

When a reporter asked whether his errors had undermined his credibility to the point that he should step down as leader of the committee, he responded by asking the reporter how long he had been in journalism.

“I wouldn’t judge whether it’s time for you to leave,” the congressman said

 

[kokonut]

Pelosi's mantra for the past 3 years or so:

"This leadership team will create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history” – Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Press Release, November 16, 2006

Plus many more broken promises, planned lies, and practically did the opposite of everything she said she would do. I guess getting "rid" of Rangel might count as one of her attempt to "drain the swamp" as she said back in December of 2006. Looks more like a clogged up drain pipe to me that's getting nowhere.
House Democrats' Top 100 Broken Promises: Most Open, Honest & Ethical Congress in History

 

[Foxrac]

I just checked and don't care about it, it don't make me to give up to more side with liberal over conservative.

 

[Reba]

I just checked and don't care about it, it don't make me to give up to more side with liberal over conservative.

That wasn't the purpose of this thread anyway. The Rangel issue has been in the news for a long time. People have been waiting for him to make this decision. Now he has, so it's important news.