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Washington, DCJudicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2009 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.”  The list, in alphabetical order, includes: 1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT):  This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 “Ten Most Corrupt” list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him.  In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat.  In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against...

Your humble correspondent has just returned from the Caribbean paradise of Culebra. Politics were far from my mind as I snorkled the Culebran reefs. However, on my way home, I picked up a copy of the Puerto Rico Daily Sun in the western outskirts of San Juan and a certain story by Robert Friedman of their Washington, D.C. bureau caught my eye because it had the word "rum" in the title: "Debate heats up in D.C. over rum rebate." As a lover of that delightful beverage, I naturally scanned the story which, much to my amusement, illustrated the state of...

Congressional Democrats are set to announce Tuesday legislation aimed at squeezing more information from foreign banks and U.S. citizens with offshore accounts to ferret out tax evaders. The bill from Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.), includes some of President Barack Obama's proposals to fight offshore tax cheating. According to a summary of the bill obtained by Dow Jones Newswires, it is expected to raise $8.5 billion for the U.S. government over 10 years. Foreign banks with U.S. customers would face a 30% withholding tax on income from...

This from the online edition of Fox's Special Report, Krauthammer hits Charles Rangel on not paying his taxes, then Juan Williams brings up Rangel's African American race or something? What is Juan talking about?

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican effort to force Representative Charles B. Rangel from the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee and instead referred the demand to the ethics panel already investigating him. As expected, the House voted 246 to 153 to essentially table the call for the ouster of Mr. Rangel, Democrat of New York. Representative John Carter, Republican of Texas, had sought Mr. Rangel’s removal in a resolution that said national attention to financial lapses by the chairman of the tax-writing committee has “held the House up to public ridicule.” Under rules governing consideration...

"Many members" of Congress suffer from the same disclosure issues as Rep. Charles Rangel (D.N.Y.), one of his allies said Wednesday. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) downplayed the seriousness of allegations against Rangel that he failed to disclose sources of income and pay taxes on some properties, saying that many lawmakers suffer from innocent lapses in judgment when filing mandatory financial disclosure forms. "I want to tell you, there are many members who, if you go back over all of their records, over all of the years, you're going to find that there were disclosures that were not made," Waters said...

Here is video from CBS2 in New York reporting on a move by House Republicans to remove Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel as Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Rangel has been plagued with ethics violations, even though he is the head of the top tax-writing body in the Congress. The video also shows Rangel trying to avoid questions by a CBS 2 reporter. She had to literally chase him down the street because he had his car moved to a different location to avoid her. He then tried to head off questions about his ethics problems by...

Sounds a little worse than "You Lie," I wonder if the same rules apply for words against a sitting Vice President?

I confess to having a soft spot in my heart for old-style, Tammany Hall pols like New York Democrat Charles Rangel, current chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee -- which is the same committee another loveable old rogue, disgraced Illinois Democrat Dan Rostenkowski, used to oversee back in the day. Both are from an era that's long past, and for good reason, too. Old Dan ended up doing time in the slam for a myriad of corrupt practices, including mail fraud, and Rangel could find himself going in the same direction, if current news reports are correct....

Even as he fends off accusations about his own failure to pay taxes and fully disclose his financial dealings, Rep. Charles Rangel had quietly slipped into the health-care bill broad new provisions cracking down on taxpayers in proceedings with the IRS, The Post has learned. The changes approved by the House Ways and Means Committee that Rangel chairs would strip away legal defenses and pile higher penalties on corporate and individual taxpayers facing IRS proceedings for what they claim are unintentional mistakes, experts said. Rangel’s bill would: * Punish those who fail to alert the IRS to potentially questionable tax...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income -- including up to $1 million for a Harlem building sale -- on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006, according to newly amended records. The documents also show the embattled chairman of the Ways and Means Committee -- who is being probed by the House Ethics Committee -- failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period. This week, Rangel filed drastically revised financial-disclosure forms reflecting new, higher amounts of outside income and numerous additional business...

Charles Rangel (D-NY) failed to disclose millions on his taxes, including a $1 million dollar house. The list of forgotten disclosures goes on and on...for years...

Six Democratic members of Congress enjoyed a Caribbean junket sponsored by Citigroup after Congress had approved the $700 billion bailout of financial services firms in October. The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, has asked Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, for a formal review of the Citigroup’s sponsorship of the trip by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and five others. The NLPC says the trip violated House rules. The purported purpose of the Nov. 6-9 junket was to attend the Caribbean Multi-Cultural Business Conference on the island of...

Here is video of Sen. Jim DeMint taking on Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel on the issue of Government Health Care. They appeared today on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. DeMint makes a strong case against the Democrats' plan, and Rangel dodged a direct question on the statement by Barney Frank that reveals the "Public option" is a trojan horse to eventually move to total Government-controlled Health Care. . . . . . (Watch Video)

FOX News: "Everyone knows that people around the table are stealing, but they don't want to turn each other in if they're going to have to pay the full penalty," said Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Asked in an interview on MSNBC what he meant by stealing, the New York Democrat replied, "I mean stealing." Asked if he were referring to drug companies, he said, "I'm talking about pharmaceuticals, in the sense that they're now coming forward saying that they want to be able to fill that vacuum that's there." FOX News: Rangel Accuses...

Shoot-from-the-lip Rep. Charles Rangel ducked for cover yesterday as Mayor Bloomberg angrily blasted him for making a racially provocative crack about a cop-on-cop, friendly-fire tragedy. Rangel had snidely warned President Obama, who was in town Saturday with the first lady, to be sure not to "run around East Harlem unidentified" -- alluding to the fatal, mistaken shooting of a black cop by a white cop in the neighborhood two days earlier. "I have a lot of respect for Charlie Rangel, but in this respect, he's just plain wrong," a livid Bloomberg said. "This is a tragedy," he added, saying he...

We might have to retire the Chutzpah & Hypocrisy Award . . . Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) went on Fox News Sunday this morning and condemned “greed.” You know Charlie, the guy who: * grabbed four rent-controlled apartments in NYC; * rides around at taxpayer expense in an $800/month Cadillac; and * writes our tax laws as Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, but didn’t pay his own taxes on a rental property in the Dominican Republic, blaming “cultural and language barriers.” View video here.

In the wake of the American International Group (AIG) bonus controversy, some have called the plans of congressional leaders to tax those bonuses at a rate of 90-100 percent "legislating with a vengeance." However, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., insists that doing this is a necessity, despite the premise that retroactively taxing anything is a dangerous precedent. In an interview with CNBC "Squawk on the Street" co-hosts Mark Haines and Erin Burnett on March 19, he explained different rules apply in these extraordinary circumstances. "When you violate the public trust, different rules apply...

The financial-disclosure forms filed over the past three decades by Rep. Charles Rangel are full of fuzzy math, according to an exhaustive review released yesterday. The nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation identified 28 separate instances within Rangel's 30 years of congressionally mandated filings where, it says, he failed to report acquiring, owning or disposing of assets. The new report could add more woes for the powerful Democrat, already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over his finances and possible abuse of authority.

The IRS's top man came to Harlem - and shared a stage with an accused tax cheat, Rep. Charles Rangel. Commissioner Douglas Shulman ... Asked about appearing with a pol who's being probed for failing to pay taxes, Shulman said, "He's one of the leaders in this country on tax policy issues. I work closely with him every day, and I'm honored to be on this stage with him."

Ask The Tax Guys Expert IRS Advice from US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithnerand House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY)Dear Tax Guys:I've had a lot on my mind lately, and when I was going through some old receipt boxes in my filing cabinet I suddenly realized I haven't paid my income taxes for the past 8 years. Am I in trouble? Please help! Continued

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tapped Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a loyal liberal from Northern California, as chairwoman of the House ethics committee. Pelosi announced Lofgren’s selection early Tuesday evening after a busy Inauguration Day. In a release, she said she would recommend Lofgren to the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and House Democratic Caucus. The choice is something of a surprise, because Lofgren has already served more than the required three terms on the ethics panel, officially called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Second stints on the ethics panel are rare, with most lawmakers trying to avoid...

Charles Rangel and the Harlem Tax Revolt of ’09 19 January 2009 @ 12:41AM SNIPPET: "I wondered how his various scandals were playing among the folks who’d be voting for him in the next election. So, on a cold winter day, I went up to 125th Street in the heart of Harlem, and to my surprise, I discovered that the seeds of an urban tax revolt had already been sown."

If not for the state of New York, one has to wonder how many blogs would actually be interesting.The roll call here is illustrious - Charles Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Al Sharpton, Eliot Spitzer, Caroline Kennedy, Michael Bloomberg … so many names, so little bandwidth. Indeed, the Empire State is home to some of the greatest frivolity in the nation. Even relative newcomers like Governor David Paterson, with his proposed fat taxes and I-tunes taxes, are keeping blogger fingers rat-a-tat-tatting away.One of my favorites is Representative Charles Rangel, the gravel-voiced dinosaur (or legend, depending on your perspective) from Harlem who once...

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson did the right thing last week when he withdrew as President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary because of an ongoing federal investigation. Prominent members of the Democratic majority in Congress who operate under similar clouds should pay heed. Rep. Rangel is a perfect storm of embarrassment for his party. He has been charged with occupying several rent-controlled New York apartments when he was only entitled to one, taking tax breaks for residences in both Washington, D.C., and New York when he was only entitled to one, failing to report rental income from a vacation...

This Blagojevich mess on top of the Charlie Rangal scandals is turning out to be a major boon to the republican party. For the last four years the democrats have been attacking the GOP as the Party of scandal. While the truth of it is that there have been enough monkey business on both sides, in most cases the media has been reporting the two much differently. A story about a Democratic scandal is usually void of any mention of party affiliation, when a Republican gets caught there is usually a giant R pained on the politicians face. But in...

In an apparent quid pro quo last year, Rangel killed a tax bill that would punish U.S. companies for relocating to lower-tax countries after a CEO pledged $1 million for the future "Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service" at the City College of New York. Previously, Rangel had supported the bill. With this latest addition to Rangel's growing parade of questionable dealings and laughable excuses—his failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income from his luxury Caribbean beach villa; his gaming of D.C. housing tax credits; his remarkable procurement of four rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; his fundraising appeals...

The more Obama's pals open their mouths, the less reason people have to vote for him. Democrats keep forming their firing squads in a circle. Such humor proves true as supporters of Democratic nominee Barack Obama provide help that does more harm than good. Democrats are in a state of high anxiety ... How does South Carolina Democratic chair Carol Fowler lend a hand? By saying Sarah Palin’s only qualification for vice president was not having an abortion. Thanks Carol. That was a big help. Then again, maybe she was trying to outdo her husband, former Democratic National Committee chair...

Three months after Rep. Charlie Rangel admitted he improperly converted a rent-stabilized apartment into his political campaign office - and promised to give it up - the embattled pol still has not moved out. For the past decade, Rangel's political operation has been headquartered in a $682-a-month, one-bedroom apartment at Lenox Terrace - the same Harlem building where he has three other rent-stabilized apartments for personal use. And even with the furor over his sweet rental deals continuing, Rangel doesn't plan to move his operations to a $4,000-a-month renovated brownstone at 193 Lenox Ave. until mid-October... "He was disingenuous at...

Rep. Charles Rangel's taxpayer-provided Cadillac DeVille is pulling double duty as his political campaign vehicle... The dual use of the luxurious wheels for official and political purposes may run afoul of House rules and add to the Harlem congressman's mounting ethical woes. Rangel's Member's Representational Allowance covers the cost of the 2004 model, which he leases for $777.54 a month. House rules forbid using any allowance funds for political purposes. Rangel for Congress spent $4,107 at Potamkin Cadillac on repairs in 2008. Last year, Rangel's National Leadership Fund footed the bill for $2,355 at the same shop. The principals and...

Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said Sunday that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) should step down from his chairmanship while an ethics investigation takes place. Questioned by host Tom Brokaw on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’, Udall initially cited the ethics process and demurred. When pressed, though, he said that it would be “helpful” if Rangel stepped down. “I think it would be helpful if Charles Rangel stepped down,” Udall said.

Is there some kind of competition on the left to see who can make the most denigrating comment about the mental acuity of Republicans? As we've noted, last night Paul Begala called President Bush "a high-functioning moron," perhaps Begala's bid to one-up Rep. Charles Rangel, who had called Sara Palin "disabled." Today, it's Jonathan Capehart's turn. Speaking with David Shuster on MSNBC this afternoon, the Washington Post editorial writer said that Sarah Palin reminds him of Lauren Caitlin Upton, the 2007 Miss Teen South Carolina whose tangles ["U.S. Americans," etc.] with the English language made her an overnight YouTube star....

Is the Congressional Black Caucus still "The Conscious of the Congress?" If American voters were to visit the caucus' Web site, they would learn that what black lawmakers are not saying is far more crucial to their interests than what they have said. The Aug. 20 caucus comments on the death of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones notwithstanding, much is lacking. There are no official statements on America's financial crisis. Visitors are not directed to a post-convention agenda. In fact, when inquiring minds want to know what, precisely, the caucus has been up to during the 110th Congress, and how effective...

Already under fire for his tax troubles, New York Congressman Charles Rangel put his foot in his mouth on Friday. In an interview with CBS station WCBS-TV Rep. Rangel called Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin "disabled." WCBS-TV asked Rangel why Democrats are so afraid of Palin and her popularity. "You got to be kind to the disabled," Rangel said. When WCBS-TV asked for clarification, Rangel confirmed his statement. WCBS-TV: "You got to be kind to the disabled?" Rangel: "Yes." WCBS-TV: "She's disabled?" Rangel: "There is no question about politically. It's a nightmare to think that a person's foreign policy...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The Associated Press has learned that Charles Rangel will not step down as chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee.

Rep. Charles Rangel paid no mortgage interest on a beach resort property for about 15 years, a lawyer for the powerful House committee chairman said Friday. Davis said Rangel failed to report rental income from the resort property on his taxes, but didn't realize it was necessary because of the way the deal was structured.

Representative Charles B. Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns, according to a lawyer for the congressman and documents from the resort.

Little-Known But Exploited Loophole Allows Politicians To Drive, Maintain Expensive Cars, SUVs On Taxpayer Money. Rep. Charles Rangel: 'My Constituents Appreciate It'. You may not realize it, but members of the House of Representatives can lease a car and have it paid for by you -- the taxpayer. And it's not just the car, but gas, registration, insurance … the works. And as CBS 2 HD found out, there's no limit on how much they can spend. Congressman Charles Rangel was recently seen getting out of his Cadillac DeVille, which he leases for $774 per month.... Congressman Gregory Meeks was...

That question now faces the Congressional Black Caucus, which has split its endorsements in the Democratic presidential primaries. The Politico reports that those who endorsed Hillary Clinton now face the pressure of their constituencies, which have begun to shift towards Barack Obama: Even though Barack Obama may become the first African-American ever to represent a major party as the nominee for president, many black lawmakers on Capitol Hill are not supporting him. And that’s creating tensions within the Congressional Black Caucus. More than a third of the black members of Congress are backing Hillary Rodham Clinton or John Edwards in...

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed legislation that would effectively halt some current tax audits of people who get a tax break for living and operating a business in the United States Virgin Islands. Many beneficiaries of the tax break are campaign contributors to the lawmaker, Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York, according to data collected by CQ MoneyLine, which tracks political contributions. At least one of them, Richard G. Vento, is currently under audit, according to court filings. Mr. Vento gave $4,400 last year to the Baucus-Rangel Leadership Fund, which supports Mr....

The House's top Democratic tax writer outlined a $1 trillion plan Thursday to eliminate the alternative minimum tax and ease the tax burdens of most people by asking the rich and some companies to pay more. ''We have attempted to restore equity and fairness to the system,'' said Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee... House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio said the ''mother of all tax hikes'' would ''doom our economy'' and put people out of work. The second-ranking House Republican, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, said his party would use the proposal to...

Notice Norah O'Donnell glancing down? Although the screen graphic refers to the Lewinsky scandal, the MSNBC anchor was at that moment discussing the Democrats's $1 trillion tax proposal with Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rangel is the key mover behind the tax plan. O'Donnell, obviously reading from a document, described the proposal as a plan "to eliminate the alternative minimum tax and ease the tax burdens of most Americans by asking the rich and some corporations to pay more.

Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday. "I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." "And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," Lute added in his first interview since he was...

Rep. Charles Rangel is lining up millions in taxpayer funds and soliciting massive donations from companies with interests before Congress in a controversial bid to finance a center in Harlem named after himself. Rangel, who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has quietly secured close to $25 million from a slew of private companies and foundations for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College. The center, which will be located in a four-story limestone building at 141st St. and Convent Avenue, will steer low-income and minority students into politics.

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK A symbolic resolution calling for New Yorkers to stop using the N-word was introduced Thursday at the City Council, where supporters said Black History Month is a relevant time to call attention to the racial slur. Queens Councilman Leroy Comrie, who spearheaded the nonbinding measure, was joined at a news conference by hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow Walker and community leaders. They said they hope the resolution will begin a campaign of awareness about the word, which has gained a level of acceptance among entertainers and youths that they said is troubling. "We need to stop looking at...

It was bad enough when last month we heard John Kerry insinuate that our brave and talented troops aren’t the brightest bulbs in the chandelier -- that young Americans who don’t pursue their education wind up “stuck in Iraq.” But now Charlie Rangel is actually making an argument for Kerry’s “joke” -- that our troops are ignorant and motivated by nothing higher than self-interest. Of course, it isn’t the first time Rangel has bashed our troops and threatened to hold hearings to bring back the draft. As I wrote in this column three weeks ago, we should expect him to...

Now that the Democrats have taken Congress, Rumsfeld has been fired and the Baker boys are in town, ‘cut and run’ is in the air, and the mortal danger we might have avoided is now staring us in the face.... This country, my country, the United States of America, can defeat any foe. We proved that in World War II and again during Desert Storm in 1991. In Korea and in Vietnam our military was placed under ‘politically correct’ constraints that prevented victory and got American soldiers killed; and now in Iraq the same thing seems to have been happening...

Rangel says Mother Teresa really wanted to be a housewifeUS Representative Charles Rangel (Dumb-NY) astounded listeners when he revealed his latest personally funded study, which showed that, contrary to previous findings, Mother Teresa preferred staying home and baking cookies. As a young woman, however, she received no marriage proposals, so she was forced by the Yugoslavian government to travel to a distant country to help other people.Rangel said that no one should challenge his findings because he is a Catholic

Remember when Congressman Charles Rangel introduced a proposal in 2003 to re-instate the draft? When it came to a vote, Rangel voted AGAINST his own draft bill. If you thought Rangel's draft proposal was nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt, you would not be wrong. Of course, Rangel was in the minority party back then. However, now that the Democrats are in the majority in Congress, Rangel has proposed the SAME cheap publicity stunt over the draft again only to be slapped down by Nancy Pelosi who publicly nixed the idea. Keep in mind that Charles Rangel is...

On January 8th of 2003, Congressman Charles Rangel [D-NY] began an extensive campaign to bring back the military draft. He repeatedly submitted legislative bills to begin a military draft and compel all American men and women up to the age of forty-two to serve two years of military service. Under the Republican-controlled Congress, such bills went down to defeat.One of the few notable supporters of the draft was Congressman John Murtha [D-PA]. Congressman Murtha reportedly is preparing to campaign to take over the highly influential position of House Majority Leader. Congressman Rangel is set to take over the House Ways...