Rangel Given Up by Iowa Pol

The House Ethics Committee today meets for the first time to consider Rep. Charles Rangel’s fate – just as one of his colleagues announced he was ridding himself of a campaign donation from the embattled Harlem Democrat.

The committee will likely decide whether to create a special panel to begin an official investigation of Rangel, who paid more than $10,000 in back taxes over the weekend to make up for years of income he failed to report to the Senate or the IRS.

But Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) decided he can’t wait for a verdict from the ethics panel while his campaign is getting hammered for accepting Rangel’s tainted cash.

Read more: (Daphne Retter, “Contribu-Shun; Iowa Pol Gives Up Tainted Rangel$$,” New York Post, 9/24/08)