Academic

EDITORIAL: Rep. Rangel pushes the envelope of arrogance. Rep. Charles Rangel has been in the Hou?

By Glenn Reynolds

EDITORIAL: Rep. Rangel pushes the envelope of arrogance.

Rep. Charles Rangel has been in the House, representing Harlem and neighboring environs, since 1971. He chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee — the outfit that writes our tax laws.

It was recently disclosed that Rep. Rangel filed a grossly misleading financial-disclosure report for 2007 — failing to report at least $500,000 in assets.

It turns out Rep. Rangel had a credit-union account worth at least $250,000 and maybe as much as $500,000 — and didn’t report it. He had investment accounts worth about the same, which he also didn’t report. Ditto for three pieces of property in New Jersey.

Beyond that, it turns out Rep. Rangel failed to report assets totaling more than $1 million on legally required financial-disclosure forms going back to at least 2001.

The news comes on top of revelations last year that Rep. Rangel didn’t report — and didn’t pay taxes on — income from a villa in the Caribbean. In that matter, the IRS gave him a sweetheart deal; the congressman paid about $10,000 in back taxes but was not assessed any penalty or interest.

Can we have the guy who audited him?

A lot of people would like that. But I think you have to be connected or something.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on September 06, 2009 (boomark / email).