After two years of investigations, representative Charles B. Rangel will finally go to court tomorrow to try and defend allegations of, among other things, illegal fund-raising and tax evasion. New York Times describes Rangel as being accused of failing to pay taxes on a villa in the Dominican Republic, failing to report assets, and receiving illegal gifts from companies and businesses.
Although it is unsure, it is possible that the businesses and companies that donate to him are trying to economically influence him so that he may vote for policies in their favor. Rangel was the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives, until he decided to step down. Congressmen will usually aim to get onto committees that they wish to have a say in. As Rangel was chairman of the tax-writing committee, he has much sway in which tax policies may be passed, and so he is a huge target for companies wishing to maybe change taxes in a way favorable to them. Ironically, Rangel faces much criticism because he is on the W&M committee, yet fails to pay taxes on rental income from his Dominican villa.
Tomorrow, a subcommittee of the ethics committee will hold a trial, after which the subcommittee will decide whether the charges are substantial enough to require the entire ethics committee to meet and decide a just punishment. I think this multi-layered system is inefficient because it delays the verdict too long. Although this case may only go to the committee level, policies that go all way up to the President have to go through many layers, increasing the chances of it being vetoed and making it more difficult to get anything passed.
One last thing to note is that if he is forced to relinquish his seat on the W&M committee, we can expect to see a rush for the open seat. For now, Democrat Pete Stark has taken over as the temporary chairman.
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