REUTERS/Larry Downing
A special House subcommittee has charged Rep. Charles Rangel with committing ethics violations. After a two-year investigation, Rangel says he’s not too upset. (via Swampland)
The former chairman of the Ways & Means Committee was investigated for violations including improperly obtaining several rent-controlled apartments, failing to reveal more than $500,000 in assets, failing to disclose financial arrangements for a villa in the Dominican Republic and using Congressional letterhead to solicit donations for a charity in his name. The committee did not specify which alleged violations would result in charges.
Jay Newton-Small writes at Swampland:
The investigation into Rangel and his yielding of the Ways & Means gavel while the process dragged out has been considered a victory by ethics watchdogs and a sign that the newly-formed Office of Congressional Ethics has been a success. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under pressure from groups including the Congressional Black Caucus, is reportedly considering weakening OCE or disbanding it altogether after the next elections.
As for Rangel, a Democrat from New York, he ‘s ready to stand up for himself. When ABC News asked him whether he would testify on his own behalf, he said, “You bet your sweet a–. If I can testify, I will.”