Updated 09/17/2008 10:37 AM
Rangel Not Stepping Down From Leadership Post
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Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel will not step down as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means committee, his lawyer confirmed this afternoon.
His lawyer said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi never made the request, despite reports to the contrary.
"Mr. Rangel believes and I strongly believe and his colleagues strongly believe that making inadvertent errors with no intention to conceal, no personal enrichment, no corruption of the public trust, but simply inadvertent errors, is not disqualifying," said attorney Lanny Davis.
Rangel met with Pelosi yesterday, who expressed her support of the congressman.
"I see no reason why Mr. Rangel should step down," said Pelosi. "Mr. Rangel has called for the Ethics Committee to look into his disclosures, etc. And I have long supported, over the last few weeks when this issue came up. I supported his call for the Ethics Committee to look into that."
Republicans have called for Rangel to be removed from his post as the head of the committee that writes the nation's tax laws as he deals with his own financial troubles.
"Democrats are proudly standing by an individual who not only circumvented the very tax hikes he himself has authored, but then escaped responsibility by claiming he is incapable of keeping his own financial house in order," said National Republican Congressional Committee Press Secretary Ken Spain.
Rangel has said he will hire an independent accounting firm to look at 20 years of tax returns and disclosure filings. The firm's report will be turned over to the House Ethics Committee without Rangel's review.
Rangel has already agreed to pay several thousand dollars in back taxes – after failing to report income from a villa in the Dominican Republic. Blaming language barriers, Rangel also says he didn't know the resort waived his mortgage interest.
His lawyers and accountants say they have also found errors in Rangel's annual financial disclosure reports to Congress. They include a failure to mention the sale of a home in Washington, D.C., as well as undervaluing a piece of property he owns in Florida.