(Splash News)
(Ron Sachs – CNP)
Party poopers!
At least two Democratic House members from the city are skipping ethically challenged Rep. Charles Rangel’s posh 80th birthday fund-raiser at The Plaza next Wednesday, sources said yesterday.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney — whose mostly East Side district abuts Rangel’s uptown seat — will miss the soiree, a campaign source said. Maloney will tend to a family matter in Virginia that day, a campaign official said.
Staten Island Rep. Mike McMahon also indicated he will be a no-show.
In another blow to Rangel, Aretha Franklin — who was scheduled to be the headline performer for the 20-term congressman’s celebration in The Plaza’s spacious Grand Ballroom — canceled because of an injury after she slipped in her bathtub. The Queen of Soul also called off two planned Brooklyn performances.
Maloney’s campaign confirmed that the congresswoman would not attend the Rangel event after her Democratic primary opponent, Reshma Saujani, released a statement yesterday saying Maloney should “immediately call for the resignation” of Rangel and blow off his fund-raiser.
“There are reports that Congresswoman Maloney may be attending Congressman Rangel’s birthday party next week,” Saujani said.
“These 13 charges against Congressman Rangel are serious allegations, not cause for a lavish birthday celebration — and our elected officials should not be joining him.”
Maloney yesterday stood by Rangel and dismissed her opponent’s call for the Harlem pol to step aside.
“Charlie Rangel is entitled to due process like every other American and this process is moving forward,” a campaign spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, McMahon — who is expected to face a stiff GOP challenge in his conservative-leaning district this fall — also has other plans than wishing Rangel a happy birthday.
All a McMahon aide would say is that the first-term congressman — the only Democrat in the city delegation to vote against President Obama’s health-care overhaul — has a “prior engagement.”
It’s still unclear whether some other top-ranking elected Democrats will attend the fund-raiser.
Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, state Attorney General and gubernatorial standard-bearer Andrew Cuomo, and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, among others, are listed as hosts for the Rangel event.
As of press time, neither Schumer, Cuomo nor DiNapoli responded to calls about whether they would attend. Gillibrand said she would attend, as did Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Joe Crowley.
Asked about whether Cuomo and Schumer would attend, a Rangel campaign official said, “No one has canceled.”
Mayor Bloomberg recently suggested the party may not be happening, but organizers said it’s still on.
Donors must pay at least $200 for the privilege of dining with Rangel, with ticket prices up to $25,000.
“There are plenty of tickets left,” a campaign worker said, adding, “There will be plenty of people there.”
Rangel has already spent more than $2 million from his campaign treasury on legal fees and can use contributions from the birthday fund-raiser for the same purpose.
A two-year House ethics probe found a “pattern” of rule-breaking by Rangel, including failing to report $1.7 million in personal assets over the years and using his office to raise money for his namesake center at CCNY — stories first reported in The Post.