WASHINGTON – A watchdog group yesterday slammed House Democratic leaders and investigators for failing to take action over Rep. Charles Rangel’s growing list of ethical issues.
“Rep. Rangel’s ethics problems continue to mount, yet the Ethics Committee and the Democratic leadership remain silent,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
The Post reported Sunday that Rangel took a “homestead” tax break on a Washington, DC, house while simultaneously occupying rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, possibly running afoul of laws and regulations in both cities.
Yesterday, The New York Times reported that Rangel helped preserve a tax loophole for an oil-drilling company at the same time that the company pledged $1 million to a school to be named in the congressman’s honor.
Sloan said that the additional revelations about possible misconduct on Rangel’s part continue to erode public confidence in the system, and that Democratic leaders, who have publicly rallied around him, aren’t helping that cause.