Democrats Exhibit Hypocrisy On Rangel

So, this is how Rep. Nancy Pelosi is supposed to make this the most ethical Congress ever. Her grand plan involves looking the other way while her Democrat colleagues engage in illegal conduct - evading taxes is a violation of state and federal law - to say nothing of moral and ethical lapses that accompany such actions. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) got a talking to by Rep. Pelosi, the House Majority Leader, but the outcome remains this: he's still the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee - the very committee that writes the federal tax code and handles appropriations.

That's no place for an individual who not only can't seem to get his own tax situation correct, but has apparently submitted incorrect tax returns for the better part of a decade by misstating income earned from real estate holdings in the US and elsewhere.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday privately pushed Rep. Charlie Rangel to give up his chairmanship of the influential House tax-rules committee amid explosive revelations that his personal tax filings were riddled with errors and omissions, a well- placed source said.

Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, has been resisting growing calls to step down from the high-profile leadership role since The Post reported the Harlem congressman failed to disclose rental income from his Dominican Republic beach home.

Rangel subsequently admitted owing at least $10,000 in back taxes and became a target of Republican political attacks.

One member of the New York congressional delegation who supported Pelosi's decision said, "You have to have one standard - you can't have one for [Republicans] and one for us."

It is curious how the Democrats suddenly have said that they're not going to treat Rangel any differently than Republicans treated their own when caught in such circumstances. How exactly does that make it right (and that's assuming arguendo that the Democrats are indeed following the GOP position of not dispatching their own when they engaged in illicit conduct). How exactly does that make it right? It doesn't.

Shouldn't there be one standard? If you commit illegal acts, you lose your seat. If you engage in illicit conduct, you must lose your chairmanships until the legalities are resolved. Why is such things left to the whims of those holding the reigns of power as the majority leader of the House or the Senate? That would eliminate the supposed hypocrisy of one party acting one way while the other doesn't.

This once again shows that the Democrats have absolutely no interest in making this the most ethical Congress ever, but rather seek power and will say and do anything to obtain it.

UPDATE:
For those who need a scorecard on what Rangel has done, consider the following:

1. Rented four rent-subsidized apartments in New York City, using one as an office, in direct violation of state rent guidelines.
2. Used official stationary to solicit donations for a CUNY school that will soon bear his name;
3. Rangel failed to account for income earned from a Punta Cana villa in the Dominican Republic on his state and federal income taxes (which so far he has copped to being short $5,000 on each state and federal returns). He also attempted to blame the situation on his wife, who he claimed was responsible for putting together the joint tax returns.
   
4. He paid no interest on the mortgage for that villa after the first two years (and apparently the value of the mortgage keeps shifting as well), which raises questions of impropriety as the waiver of interest could be considered a gift and taxable income.
   
5. He failed to account for income earned on multiple properties, including the sale of a property more than a decade ago.
6. Rangel has taken lobbyist junkets without proper reporting under Congressional guidelines.

The excuses given by Rangel to explain his incorrect tax returns are laughable, considering that he lives and represents a district inhabited by a large Dominican contingent, and he's been known to speak Spanish nearly as well as many resident Dominicans.

UPDATE:
If Pelosi acts and strips Rangel of his chairmanship, she creates a huge headache with the New York delegation, which can't come at a worse time. Sen. Obama's polling appears to have slipped in New York and if the scandal festers, voters might take it out on Democrats up and down the ticket. If she doesn't act, the Republicans will rightfully claim that the Democrats are hypocrites and have no problem with a tax cheat running Ways and Means. It's a no win situation and Pelosi can't afford to make a decision in either direction. So, she's hoping that Rangel makes the decision for her. Fat chance.

Jammie also weighs in.

UPDATE:
Here's a catalog of Rangel's various excuses and spin to explain away his legal and tax woes.

UPDATE:
Rangel refuses to step down, even temporarily at the behest of Rep. Pelosi. He doesn't think he's done anything wrong; his fellow NY Democrats don't think he's done anything wrong; and Pelosi isn't going to act on her own to make him step down.

Watch for the next step to come from the IRS or the NYS Dept. of Taxation and Finance.

The Tax Prof has more. In one of his prior posts the Tax Prof quips that if Rangel, who's been involved in crafting the tax law for 38 years, can't figure out what is taxable income and what is excluded, how can anyone else be expected to do the same. Indeed.