COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Some Democrats ask Rangel to quit
McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON – Several House Democrats are calling on Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., to resign instead of facing an ethics inquiry that could damage the party’s chances at the polls this fall.
Rangel stepped down this spring as chairman of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee after he was admonished for violating House rules by taking corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean.
Rangel reportedly is in negotiations to settle the charges, but if he doesn’t, on Thursday he’ll face a trial-like session of a special House subcommittee.
The exact nature of the ethics violations he faces won’t be revealed until the subcommittee meets, although Rangel has faced a lengthy probe for failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income and assets, improper use of several rent-controlled apartments in his Harlem district, fundraising efforts for a college center that bears his name, and failing to pay taxes on property he owns in the Dominican Republic.
This week, Democratic Reps. Walt Minnick of Idaho and Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio called on him to quit.
“Now that the investigation is complete, and provided the facts are as alleged, I think it’s clear that he should resign from Congress,” Minnick said.
(Comment: This is one brave and valuable man, loved greatly by his constituents, served his country militarily with distinction , then onto public service for decades with a spectacular list of accomplishments and a flair for really getting things done. There is no one to dispute any of that. To rise so significantly in life to such stature and prominence carries with it a greater responsibility. Charles Rangel is to be honored and no one wants him to be humiliated nor his talents and accomplishments trivialized. This is one good man.
To quote Jim Tressel from today’s article on his supporting Maurice Clarrett on trying to put his life back in order:
