Taxing Times for Charles Rangel

In better times, New York Rep. Charles Rangel–better known as Charlie around the Hill–can be seen gliding between his House office building and the Capitol with the air of a man completely at ease with himself, as at home at state dinners as he is sitting on a wall outside of a political convention drinking a brew with his homies.

But on Wednesday, Rangel, who has climbed the ranks to become chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, was forced to endure what has to have been the most humiliating moment in his 40-plus-year career. As he sat quietly in the front row on the House floor, the chamber’s reading clerk read aloud a nine-page resolution sponsored by Rep. John Carter (Texas), House Republican Conference secretary, in the latest attempt to force Rangel to relinquish his chairmanship while an ethics panel completes an investigation into his financial dealings.

Alleged ethical violations include failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income and assets, failure to disclose rental income from a resort villa in the Dominican Republic on federal and state tax returns, and using congressional stationary for fundraising purposes. The ethics panel is conducting its investigation at the request of Rangel.

“To allow Mr. Rangel to continue to serve as chairman of the very committee with IRS oversight–without paying a nickel in penalties and with no end in sight to his ethics investigation–sends a clear message to the American public that this government refuses to abide by the same laws they impose on the working people of this country,” Carter said on the floor.

Not surprisingly, however,

the House voted 246-153 to essentially table the resolution by referring it to the ethics committee, which House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) says demonstrates that Democrats “are once again circling the wagons and demonstrating their loyalty to a leader who faces serious questions about his official conduct” instead of holding him accountable.

Rangel said he’s been waiting patiently for the committee to make a judgment, and the House floor isn’t the place to resolve this matter. But that patience has clearly begun to wear thin. The sparkle in his eye has dimmed and his impeccably tailored wardrobe is beginning to look alarmingly slack. Some of his Congressional Black Caucus colleagues are a bit worried. During a Thursday morning vote, about 15 of them–joined by Representatives Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island and Barney Frank of Massachusetts, gathered around Rangel in a tender huddle of support.

“I think he’s troubled by this,” said fellow New Yorker Rep. Edolphus Towns. “But he’s a tough guy. He comes from Harlem.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks, also of New York, echoed that sentiment. “This is just a cheap political trick. This won’t silence Rangel, his voice, or his influence,” said Meeks. “If that’s what Republicans are trying to do, it’s not working.”

The CBC also sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to express its support of Rangel and condemn what they called “partisan attempts” to ignore the ethics process.

“Regrettably, the minority has repeatedly attempted to make an end-run around the bipartisan procedures for investigating possible ethics issues,” the letter reads. “These Republican attempts to presume guilt before an investigation has been completed violate the core

American principle of the presumption of innocence. These attempts also will discourage members in the future from self-reporting any potential ethics issues and will distract from the important work of the House to fix the economy, put Americans back to work, and improve access to healthcare.”

Further, the group believes that Republican attempts to force Rangel to step down are designed to distract the House from its work on healthcare and other reforms.

“They’re in the minority and will do every- and anything they can to distract and slow us down. But we’re going to do everything we can to keep going forward, and within the next 30 days or so, we’ll pass a healthcare bill,” said Rep. Chaka Fattah (Pa.). “That’s much more important than any allegations they may make.”