September 3, 2009 1:57 PM
- Text
Embattled Rangel Pressured to Give up Chairmanship
This post was written by WCBS' Marcia Kramer.
There are more problems for embattled Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel.
The Washington Post is calling for him to step aside as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Harlem native has bobbed and weaved about his finances for well over a year now, but his sudden discovery of millions of dollars and his decision to report it quietly while congress is on vacation has finally caught up with him.
In an editorial headlined "Sorry Charlie," the Washington Post says Rep. Rangel has to step down as head of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
"For politicians with major bad news to release or to make public, there's no time like the dead of August to do it. The thinking goes that the public won't remember a thing come September. We hope Rep. Charles b. Rangel (D-NY) will have no such luck. His belated revelation of previously unreported income, property and bank accounts demands that he step aside as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee," read Thursday morning's editorial piece.
Even some of Rangel's Harlem constituents have had it.
"He should step aside because who's to know what else he's doing that we don't know about," said New York City resident Jerry Watson.
One Harlem resident says Rangel is no different than any other Washington D.C. politician.
"He's not the only one, they're all stealing. It's just they want to get him because he has too much influence," said Jacob Israel. "He's been in there too long every last one of them is stealing."
The editorial follows CBS 2 HD's discovery that since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him.
Charlie's "angels" on the committee include Congressmen Ben Chandler of Kentucky, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Peter Welch of Vermont. All have received donations from Rangel.
Only Welch sees something wrong with being financial beholden to Charlie.
"In an abundance of caution, he has returned all campaign contributions from Mr. Rangel," said spokesman Bob Rogan, Welch's Chief of Staff.
Congressman Rangel has said he expects the House Ethics Committee to rule quickly on the ethical charges that are being brought against him. The problem is he's been saying the same thing for well over a year.
Rangel's office did not return a request for comment on the question of whether the congressman thought members receiving donations from him should step aside and let others rule on the ethics charges.
(AP/Lauren Victoria Burke)
The Washington Post is calling for him to step aside as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Harlem native has bobbed and weaved about his finances for well over a year now, but his sudden discovery of millions of dollars and his decision to report it quietly while congress is on vacation has finally caught up with him.
In an editorial headlined "Sorry Charlie," the Washington Post says Rep. Rangel has to step down as head of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
"For politicians with major bad news to release or to make public, there's no time like the dead of August to do it. The thinking goes that the public won't remember a thing come September. We hope Rep. Charles b. Rangel (D-NY) will have no such luck. His belated revelation of previously unreported income, property and bank accounts demands that he step aside as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee," read Thursday morning's editorial piece.
Even some of Rangel's Harlem constituents have had it.
"He should step aside because who's to know what else he's doing that we don't know about," said New York City resident Jerry Watson.
One Harlem resident says Rangel is no different than any other Washington D.C. politician.
"He's not the only one, they're all stealing. It's just they want to get him because he has too much influence," said Jacob Israel. "He's been in there too long every last one of them is stealing."
The editorial follows CBS 2 HD's discovery that since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him.
Charlie's "angels" on the committee include Congressmen Ben Chandler of Kentucky, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Peter Welch of Vermont. All have received donations from Rangel.
Only Welch sees something wrong with being financial beholden to Charlie.
"In an abundance of caution, he has returned all campaign contributions from Mr. Rangel," said spokesman Bob Rogan, Welch's Chief of Staff.
Congressman Rangel has said he expects the House Ethics Committee to rule quickly on the ethical charges that are being brought against him. The problem is he's been saying the same thing for well over a year.
Rangel's office did not return a request for comment on the question of whether the congressman thought members receiving donations from him should step aside and let others rule on the ethics charges.
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