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Per records, powerful congressman offered to quit, then fought allegations ### Mayor Richard M. Daley, right, and U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski attend a news conference together in 1993. Daley praised the longtime congressman after his death last August. ************* The theft of just $7,000 by a stamp clerk in the U.S. House Post Office mushroomed into a federal investigation that brought down one of the most powerful congressmen in the country, the late Daniel Rostenkowski of Chicago, according to records released Thursday by the FBI. The documents reveal that the FBI in 1992 was told by a "reliable source" that...

WASHINGTON — A House investigative committee on Thursday charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel with multiple ethics violations, a blow to the former Ways and Means chairman and an election-year headache for Democrats. The committee did not immediately specify the charges against the Democrat, who has served in the House for some 40 years and is fourth in House seniority. The announcement by a four-member panel of the House ethics committee sends the case to a House trial, where a separate eight-member panel of Republicans and Democrats will decide whether the violations can be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

Sander Levin-D Michigan, the brand spanking new Chairman of the most powerful House Ways and Means Committee, (who took over for the crazy Pete Stark, whose short one day tenure was a replacement for tax-dodging, rules breaking Charlie Rangel) had some property tax issues of his own. Well he had them until Friday when he was contacted by Roll Call and rushed to repay a Maryland property-tax credit Friday that he should not have received.

Rep. Pete Stark won't become interim chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Stark, D-Fremont, was the next-most-senior Democrat on the tax-writing committee after former Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., 79, who temporarily stepped aside Wednesday pending the conclusion of an Ethics Committee probe into his corporate-paid travel. House rules said Stark, 78, would automatically ascend to the chair unless he declined, or unless House Democrats voted to pass him over. But other Democrats on the committee reportedly were concerned about Stark's hot-tempered tendencies — which has included some eye-watering tirades and blunt speech on the House floor, in...

Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) will be the acting chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced to her caucus on Thursday. The startling announcement comes a day after Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) appeared ready to take the reins of the committee from Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). Stark was the next in line for the post in terms of seniority, but some panel members recoiled at the idea of his leading the committee. Stark is known for making controversial and eccentric remarks, and in 2007 he apologized on the House floor for comments about President George W....

Second Ways & Means boss ousted; Levin replaces liberal Stark By Jay Heflin - 03/04/10 09:57 AM ET Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that Rep. Sander Levin will be the interim Ways and Means panel chairman. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) said Pelosi made the announcement at a meeting of the caucus this morning. Etheridge said Ways and Means members gave their unanimous backing to Levin, a Michigan Democat who has been chairman of the subcommittee on trade. "Pelosi announced it in the caucus and the Ways and Means Committee just unanimously approved it," Etheridge said. The startling announcement comes a...

House Democrats on the powerful Ways and Means Committee are meeting Thursday to decide whether short-fused Rep. Pete Stark should take over as chairman for Rep. Charlie Rangel, with questions being raised about the California Democrat's temperament. Though Stark is the next most-senior member on the panel and was said to be in line for the post after Rangel stepped aside amid an ethics probe Wednesday, many Democrats are fretting that Stark is too volatile to lead such an important committee. His racially, sexually and politically charged remarks have gotten him in trouble in the past. Rep. Danny Davis,...

With Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., temporarily stepping down as chairman of the House Committee of Ways and Means under an ethics cloud, it appears Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark, D-Calif., will take his place. Stark is a “colorful” fellow, to say the least. Below are some of his more entertaining moments.

Charlie Rangel was alone and lost Wednesday, an aging and now powerless pol who didn't know where to go or what to do. He had made a wrong turn coming out of a memorial service for another old bull of the House, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), and was by himself under the vast and majestic expanse of the Capitol dome. The usual scurrying aides, the armload of briefing papers, the multiple cell phones and other trappings of influence were gone. Capitol guards eyed Rangel with concern as he wandered toward unfamiliar territory on the Senate side, but they kept...

Rep. Pete Stark took the gavel of one of the House's most powerful committees today — at least temporarily. Stark, D-Fremont, will be interim chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with jurisdiction over all taxation and other revenue-raising measures, as well as other programs such as Social Security; Medicare; unemployment benefits; foster care and adoption programs; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal welfare program; and child-support enforcement. The committee's second-most-senior Democrat, Stark has served as the Health Subcommittee's chairman. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., temporarily gave up the committee's chair Wednesday, days after the House Ethics Committee publicly...

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., is taking over for Rep. Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., as the latter eases into a questionably voluntary leave of absence from the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee under a cloud of multiple scandals. What sort of chairman will Stark be? Try extremely thin-skinned and...to edit myself for charity, "volatile." That is not intended to be a slur -- it's just true. Don't take my word for it. Here's a video of Stark telling a constituent...well, you have to hear it for yourself, you really won't believe it if I write it out: In...

File this under, be careful what you wish for. As expected Charlie Rangel temporarily stepped down from the Chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee this morning. His replacement Pete Stark who is just a few fries short of a happy meal. The Hill's description is a bit more gentle. The 19-term Democrat has a penchant for making controversial remarks, and when Republicans controlled the House, Stark challenged then Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) to a fight during a Ways and Means Committee hearing Truth is this guy is CRAZY, he has thin-skin and is constantly exploding publicly into racial...

California Rep. Pete Stark — a controversial lawmaker who has a history of volatile comments about Republicans — is now chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, automatically moving up from the second slot after New York Democrat Charles Rangel relinquished his gavel Wednesday morning. It would take an affirmative action of the House to remove Stark and replace him with another member of the Ways and Means Committee, according to aides familiar with House operations. Stark, one of the chamber's most liberal, partisan and pugnacious members, has had his own recent run-in with the ethics committee, exhibiting bizarre behavior...

Three Democratic leadership aides told Reuters they were unable to confirm or comment on the NBC report. A fourth indicated that no immediate announcements were planned. NBC quoted a Democratic House member as saying the party did not have the votes to save Rangel, who has faces calls from Republicans and some Democrats to step down as chairman. Representative Sander Levin of Michigan or Representative Pete Stark of California may temporarily take over as chairman, NBC said, citing congressional leadership sources. NBC quoted unidentified sources as saying Rangel has been encouraged to step aside before the House votes on a...

First it was NBC and then ABC and the internet went crazy, the reports all said that America's dirtiest Congressman was about to give up his Chairmanship of the most powerful committee in the House, The Ways and Means Committee. After being admonished by an ethics panel for accepting corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean, Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., will give his chairmanship of the powerful House Ways and Means committee, NBC News has learned. The top spot may temporarily go to Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., according to leadership sources, or to Rep. Pete Stark of California, the committee's second-ranking Democrat....

Last night the House Ethics Committee publicly admonished Charlie Rangel, the House Ways and Means Committee Charmian for participating in junkets to the Caribbean sponsored by corporations and lobbyists and violating house rules by letting corporations pay for his Caribbean trips. One of the sponsors of the Junkets in question was Citigroup -- a banking giant whose employees and political action committee, when taken together, represent his most generous campaign donor during the past two decades. Also Opensecrets.com reports that Rangel ranks among the top all-time congressional and presidential beneficiaries of Citigroup's political donations. Rangel on the other hand, claims...

Maybe when City College of NY is done building Charlie Rangel's favorite Pork project, the $1.95 million, federal earmark funded Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service one of the first courses they could teach is "Playing Fast and Loose with Ethics 101." This past year, Americans have gotten to see the true nature of Congressman Rangel. He may have been a public servant for almost 40 years, but throughout that time he has found ways to enrich his favorite constituent, Charlie Range. In September of 2008 he admitted a failure to report $75 thousand in taxes. What has followed...

Sometimes there is nothing like a good fantasy, movies like Princess Bride, Wizard of Oz are classics for children and adults alike. Fantasy is not supposed to be a way to describe the reports filed by politician, but in the case of Charlie Rangel, chairman of the house Ways and Means committee fantasy is the only way to describe them. Much has been written about Rangel's revised financial disclosure form and all that new income that mysteriously turned up in his latest report. One of Rangel's properties that was was shown to earn income in Charlie's revised report, but in...

Remember when Nancy Pelosi made that famous promise? "This will be the most ethical congress ever." Despite all the evidence that Rangel should be taking a "perp walk" rather than the position of Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Pelosi says she is waiting for the House Ethics Committee to complete its wide-ranging investigation before she makes a decision about Rangel..Why is Pelosi supporting Charlie Rangel and ignoring the volume of evidence against him? Its not because of any long standing friendship of loyalty, its because she needs to protect her own political butt:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has renewed his call for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to resign as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. “When it comes to the relationship between the American people and those they elect to serve them, trust is everything,” Boehner wrote in a letter to Rangel sent Friday. “This is especially true at a difficult time such as this for our nation, when Americans are looking to their government for leadership and solutions, and finding both in short supply. “For this reason, I am writing to again respectfully urge that you step aside as...