Morning Brief

CHARLIE RANGEL STILL IN THE HEADLIGHTS
Bizarrely, MSNBC claims GOP is piling on Rangel

CBS2hd: Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel gave campaign contributions to 3 Dems on ethics committee charged with investigating him.

Charlie's "angels" on the committee include Congressmen Ben Chandler of Kentucky, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Peter Welch of Vermont. All have received donations from Range

Rangel failed to report over $1 million in outside income and $3 million in business transactions as required by the House, lapses under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
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Yesterday, the ethically-challenged Washington Post suggested that Rangel resign. WashPo editorial, "Sorry, Charlie". My post.

The editorial follows CBS 2 HD's discovery that since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him.

MSNBC: GOP PILES ON PELOSI, RANGEL

JOHN FUND (Wall Street Journal): Rangel IQ Test (Not a Memory Test)
Nancy Pelosi wants to wait on the Ethics Committee decision. But, "The Ethics Committee process may take a long time. Earlier this year, the liberal Sunlight Foundation found that Mr. Rangel's problems with paperwork go back decades. He failed to report purchases, sales or his ownership of assets at least 28 times since 1978. "I understand being sloppy, missing an asset once or twice," says Sunlight fellow Bill Allison. "But what this shows is he doesn't take financial disclosure seriously."

CYNTHIA TUCKER (Atlanta Journal and Constitution) Rangel has no credibility as Ways and Means chairman
Uber Liberal Cynthia Tucker thinks Rangel ought to do the honorable thing and step down. "Even if he didn’t have major credibility problems, all that forgetfulness would raise significant questions about whether Rangel, 79, retains the mental acuity to run a committee that deals with such complex issues." (Henceforth known as the Senility Defense, even though the accounting goes back decades.)
FUNNIEST LINE: "It’s too bad his wretched accounting practices have rendered him unfit for the post."

John Bresnahan (Politico) Charlie Rangel pays lawyers $1,000,000
" Rangel’s latest campaign finance disclosures show that his campaign and his leadership PAC have now paid more than $1 million to lawyers defending against a wide-ranging investigation of his personal finances." Federal election law allows lawmakers to use campaign funds to pay legal bills related to their official duties.
[It's a DUTY to falsely filling out financial statements?]