Ken Berwitz

Charles Rangel is the long time house member from upper Manhattan (and a tiny sliver of Queens), New York.  He also appears to be one of the most corrupt congresspeople anywhere (no small accomplishment).

In just the past year, we have learned that Rangel leases four apartments at the highly desirable Lenox Terrace apartment complex in his district - all at rents that are about half the current going rate.  Legally, he can only lease one of them.  That stinks.

Then we have Mr. Rangel's resort condo in Punta del Cana, Dominican Republic, which he rents out, makes a very nice profit from, and somehow forgot to pay taxes on for years.

If that weren't enough, in September of this year, after being pressured to open his books, a number of other major accounting discrepancies were found - in his favor, of course - related to property he owned in Washington DC and Sunny Isles, Florida.

If Charles Rangel were a Republican, he would be out of office and either in court room or a jail cell by now.

But Charles Rangel is a Democrat, so he remains chairman of... the House Ways & Means Committee!!!  This tax cheat is in charge of a committee that oversees the writing of taxes!!!

I mention all this as a prelude to the following story, written by Jim Meyers at www.newsmax.com.  It should give you insight into just how concerned Mr. Rangel is that he will ever be held to account for any of his actions:

Rangel, Other Reps, Party in Caribbean With Citi Funds

Friday, January 30, 2009 12:04 PM By: Jim Meyers

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 St. Maarten, but “the primary purpose of attending for most participants appeared to be to take a vacation,” according to the NLPC, which had a representative at the event. The NLPC said in a statement: “The ‘lead sponsor’ was Citigroup, which contributed $100,000. Citigroup was certainly aware that it would be a major recipient of bailout funds. It was also aware that its fortunes had become increasingly reliant on Congressional actions. “Citigroup should have also been aware that corporate sponsorship of such an event was banned by House rules adopted on March 1, 2007, in response to the [lobbyist Jack] Abramoff scandal and the infamous golf trip to Scotland.” In addition to Rangel, other members of Congress who attended were Donald Payne of New Jersey, Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and Donna Christensen, the delegate to the House from the United States Virgin Islands.

Unbelievable. 

With all that on his head, Rangel goes on a junket, largely paid for by Citigroup, which a) is flat on it's butt money-wise, b) is taking billions and billions of taxpayers' dollars in bailouts and c) has business before the committee that Rangel chairs. 

This is the same Citigroup that, just this week, accepted receipt of a brand new, state-of-the-art $50,000,000 corporate jet.  Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Sucker...er, Taxpayer, we'll enjoy it. 

There is only one way that Charles Rangel (and his junket buddies - all Democrats) could ever have accepted this.  It is with the certainty that he, and the rest of them, will not be held to account for it.

And why shouldn't Rangel have this certainty?  Has he been held to account for his dissolute, corrupt activities until now?

Maybe if we still had two-party government there would be a loud enough outcry to do something about this.  But we don't, do we?  Democrats run every part of government, with plenty of a majority to spare.

So you can count on Mr. Rangel enjoying the "perks" of his office, ethical or otherwise, to his heart's content. 

We voters created this situation, and it is ours for the next two years.  Then we can do something about it. 

Will we?