Friday, October 09, 2009


How long can Democrats stand by Charlie Rangel?
...The House ethics committee expanded a sprawling investigation into Rangel Thursday, digging into allegations stemming from an August restatement of his personal finances, in which he under reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets. The ethics committee action – which was unanimous — came a day after House Democrats turned back a Republican attempt to force Rangel from his Ways and Means chairmanship while the investigation, now in its second year, is completed.

“There’s growing concern at the piling up here of issues,” said one Democratic lawmaker who asked not to be identified talking about Rangel. “People are willing to give some time to the process, but not an infinite amount of time. There will come a time, if this goes unresolved, when the drip, drip, drip will become a torrent.” ...

...“The American people won’t stand for having a chairman of the House’s tax-writing committee who is under investigation for not paying his taxes,” House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said. “What more has to happen before Speaker Pelosi does the right thing?”...