Minnick Says Rangel Should Resign

Several Democrats in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, are calling on Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to step down to avoid a public ethics inquiry that could damage the party’s chances at the polls this fall.

Rangel stepped down this spring as chairman of the 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. But 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.

Minnick this week joined Rep. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, in saying Rangel should quit.

Read more: (Erika Bolstad, “Idaho Democratic Rep. Minnick Says Rangel Should Resign,” Idaho Statesman, 07/27/10)