Rangel Hires Firm to Scour His Tax Returns for Errors

Representative Charles B. Rangel announced on Thursday that he had hired a forensic accounting firm to determine whether there were additional errors and omissions on his tax returns and public disclosure forms.

There was no indication whether the firm, Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Company LLC, would be allowed to operate independently and to turn over its findings directly to the House ethics committee that is investigating aspects of the congressman’s personal finances, or whether it would report to the legal team defending him in that inquiry.

When Mr. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, announced plans to hire an accounting firm two months go, amid calls for him to relinquish his powerful position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, his spokesman said the congressman was taking the “unprecedented step” of allowing the firm to report directly to the ethics committee because he was determined to be as forthcoming and transparent as possible.

Read more: (David Kocieniewski, “Rangel Hires Firm to Scour His Tax Returns for Errors,” The New York Times, 11/14/08)