Rangel admits to 'mistakes'
Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 12:49 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Congress, Democrats
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel says he did not receive any "cash proceeds" from rental of his Dominican Republic vacation property, but admits that rental income that was put toward his mortgage payment should have counted as income.
"What I now know is that although I have not personally received proceeds in cash, the fact that any reductions to the mortgage actually counted as income and should have been reported as such," Rangel writes in a letter to Speaker Pelosi, which he read aloud on camera.
Rangel was compelled to appear before the press in the House gallery for a second time this year to defend himself against charges of ethical impropriety. This visit came in the wake of reports that he failed to report 20 years worth of income from the property, and that he, in fact, owes both federal and local back taxes on same.
House Republican leader John Boehner has called for Rangel to step down from his Ways and Means post, citing the fact that as chairman of the panel Rangel is charged with writing tax law, while at the same time neglecting to pay his own taxes. Rangel says he will unilaterally ask the House ethics committee to look into the matter, making this the third ethics complaint he has made against himself this year.
"I really don't believe that making mistakes mean that you should give up your career," Rangel said.
Rangel appeared for more than an hour and delivered a performance that was at turns cajoling, admonishing toward the press, vindictive and self-deprecating -- with regard to his weight (he claims to have lost 10 to 15 pounds after he was pictured on the cover of the New York Post, asnooze in a chaise lounge on a white sandy beach at or near the property in question).
Rangel was accompanied at the presser by his lawyer, Lanny Davis. He released three volumes of information, one for each scandal, that contained correspondence, copies of leases, news clippings, etc.
All are intended to demonstrate that Rangel has nothing to hide and that he will answer any and all questions regarding these matters.
