Wrangling Charlie Rangel

The calls are getting louder for Charlie Rangel to give up his gavel. Sure, Republicans want all Democrats to resign basically (just ask Nancy Pelosi) but for once, the GOP may have a point with old Charlie.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will let Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) keep his chairmanship despite his failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets on federal disclosure forms, according to Democratic aides.

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s latest misstep has received strong media scrutiny and prompted good-government watchdog groups to call for a special counsel investigation.

Growing ethical turmoil surrounding Rangel has prompted calls for Pelosi to yank Rangel’s gavel. Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) on Wednesday called on Rangel to release his tax returns. He also said Democratic leaders should yank Rangel’s Ways and Means chairmanship if he refuses or if the returns show tax reporting violations.

“There’s enough [failures to disclose assets] that it’s starting to look more like a pattern…the public has a right to know if he pays his taxes and if he has a pattern of not paying his taxes,” Issa said in an interview with The Hill. “If he failed to file his taxes in any of these circumstances, he should not be allowed to be the chairman of the tax-writing committee.”

But Democratic aides say that Pelosi will not pressure Rangel to resign his post or censure him publicly unless the House ethics committee finds him guilty of misconduct or a prosecutor brings charges.

And Pelosi's response is most likely the correct one. If the investigations into Rangel find that there's a case there to be made, then yes, by all means, hang him out to dry. Until then, wait and see.

Personally, I don't know if even Charlie Rangel is powerful enough to make it through this one.