Rangel Investigation Expanded by House Ethics Committee

The House Ethics Committee announced plans Thursday to expand its investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who in August amended his congressional financial disclosure forms to acknowledge hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously unreported income and assets.

In a statement, the committee said it voted unanimously to add the fresh disclosures to its examination of Rangel, which has now lasted more than a year. Rangel, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, stands accused of a variety of ethical violations involving his finances. The committee said nothing Thursday about the progress of its probe or when it would end, but noted members had issued 150 subpoenas, interviewed 34 witnesses and held 30 meetings about Rangel.

A Republican-sponsored resolution to remove Rangel from his chairmanship was defeated Wednesday by Democrats, who said Congress should defer to the ethics committee. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) Wednesday repeated his call for Rangel to step down until the committee completes its investigation and said “we’re going to continue to press this case.”

Read more: (Perry Bacon Jr., “House Ethics Committee Expands Rangel Investigation,” The Washington Post’s “Capitol Briefing” blog, 10/08/09)