Ethics committee launches formal Rangel probe

After two months of Rep. Charles Rangel asking the ethics committee to investigate him, the panel Wednesday launched a formal probe into the multiple allegations piled up around the powerful New York Democrat. 

The committee voted to establish an investigative subcommittee to conduct an inquiry, a significant step indicating that the panel’s members believe the allegations are complex, serious or both.

{mosads}The committee met Wednesday afternoon to consider how to respond to the charges. Afterward, it issued a release listing items the inquiry will address, including $75,000 in undisclosed rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic and a no-interest loan involved in the deal; his use of four rent-stabilized apartments in New York City; and alleged misuse of congressional stationery for fundraising letters for an education center bearing his name.

Rangel has sent the committee three different letters asking the panel to “review” the allegations against him. Early last week, The New York Times joined House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) in calling for Rangel to step down from his chairmanship of the tax-writing Ways and Means panel while the ethics committee conducts its investigation.

The ethics panel’s release also said the investigation would look into Rangel’s compliance with Committee on House Administration Rules regarding storage of one of his cars. The New York Post last week reported that Rangel used the House garage to store an old Mercedes-Benz, an apparent violation of House rules barring the use of the space for storing cars more than 45 days.

Reps. Gene Green (D-Texas), the acting chairman of the ethics committee, and Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), its ranking member, will lead the investigative subcommittee’s work. The other two members of the subcommittee are Reps. Robert "Bobby" Scott (D-Va.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.).