House Ethics Committee Votes To Investigate Rangel

As expected, the House ethics committee has voted to create a special investigative subcommittee to look into the allegations swirling around embattled Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).

The four-member subcommittee will be overseen by Reps. Gene Green (D-Texas) and Doc Hastiings (R-Wash.), the chairman and ranking member of the ethics committee. The other two members of the subcommittee are Reps. Bobbyt Scott (D-Va.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.).

The subcommittee will look into four separate allegations against Rangel: first, that he used official congressional stationery to send letters in 2005-2007 to potential donors for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College in New York City; that he improperly controlled four rent-controlled apartments in a Harlem apartment building; that he failed to pay taxes on $75,000 in income from a Dominican Republic vacation home, as well as having problematic mortgage on the residence; and improperly stored a car on a House garage.

 Rangel has denied any wrongdoing, and he called for the ethics committee to look into his case.