The Hill newspaper kicks in with its take on the matter of Congressman Charles Rangel.

Washington Post says Rangel should step down
By Susan Crabtree
Posted: 11/29/08 06:05 PM [ET]

The Washington Post has joined the New York Times in calling for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in light of new ethics charges that emerged earlier this week.

The Times reported Tuesday that Rangel helped preserve a valuable tax loophole for an oil and gas drilling company while the company’s chief executive, Eugene Isenberg, was pledging $1 million to the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at City College of New York.

Rangel has said the timing of the donation’s pledge was not related to his decision to oppose legislation closing the tax loophole.

But the Post editorial board on Saturday was skeptical about the coincidence, noting that Rangel met Isenberg to discuss the businessman’s support of the Rangel school the same day the tax legislation was being considered in the Ways and Means Committee. Right after his meeting with Isenberg, Rangel met with the company’s lobbyists, to make sure Rangel would not close the loophole.

The revelation is the latest in a series of allegations that have surfaced in the past five months. Rangel also has been accused of paying below-market rents on four apartments, including one that he illegally used as a campaign office. He has since given that office up. In addition, Rangel failed to pay tens of thousands of tax dollars on rental income on a vacation home in the Dominican Republic. He has since hired a forensic accountant to determine exactly how much he owes for the past 17 years. He failed to report the value of a condominium in Florida and did not report a privately sponsored trip on his House travel disclosure forms. He also used congressional letterhead to request meetings to promote donations to the City College education center bearing his name.

The ethics committee is investigating the allegations, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said she expects the panel to wrap up its investigation by the end of this Congress, Jan. 3.

The Times on Wednesday called on Pelosi to force Rangel to step down from the Ways and Means panel. The Post also argued that the time has come for Rangel to relinquish the post.

“At a time when President-elect Barack Obama is holding frequent news conferences to reassure the markets and the American people that he is ready to lead the nation to economic recovery, the last thing he will need is a chairman of Ways and Means caught up in a swirl of serious allegations,” the Post opined.

Original Article: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/washington-post-says-rangel-should-step-down-2008-11-29.html

TH
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