After Charles Rangel (D-NY) walked out of a contentious hearing on ethics charges, the subcommittee debated the charges without him and found him guilty of 11 violations. The subcommittee found “clear and convincing” evidence of guilt, including failing to pay taxes on rental income earned on a house in Dominican Republic. Of all of the charges, this was perhaps the one that attracted the most attention: Rangel claimed that he didn’t understand the tax consequences of failing to report the income. This, from the then Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, the very committee that writes the nation’s tax policy.
Rangel was not found guilty of a charge relating to the House gift ban.
The matter now moves to the full ethics committee which will recommend a punishment for Rangel. The committee could recommend the harshest sentence, expulsion from the House, but likely won’t. Considering the language from the subcommittee, who was careful to phrase Rangel’s conduct as less than willful, a reprimand is expected.
Rangel has already been forced to resign from his former position as Chair of the Ways and Means Committee; he was once considered the most powerful Congressman on the Hill. Now, he’s merely a poster child for what’s wrong with Congress.
