Rangel To File Ethics Complaint Against Himself

Faced with a likely vote  on Thursday by the House ethics committee to investigate him, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, will file an ethics complaint against himself.

Rangel has faced questions over his role in raising money for the "Rangel Center" in New York since a recent New York Times story. Rangel has denied any wrongdoing, and last week he called for an ethics panel probe, but now he is going to go one step further and actually file a complaint against himself.

The ethics committee is scheduled to hold a regular meeting on Thursday, and both Democratic and GOP leaders expected the panel to announce that it was opening an investigation into Rangel's actions. The New York Democrat, though, is prepared to pre-empt the panel and call for a formal probe.