THE ETHICAL HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE

Charlie Rangel heads the Ways Committee and writes the tax laws. One would think that he would know the tax law and would pay his taxes. Instead, he chose to hide income. He was up before the ethics committee and faced thirteen charges of unethical behavior. Two of these counts are felonies and are punishable by jail terms. Rangel maintained his innocence and decided to take the matter to trial – although that is still uncertain. The House Ethics Committee recommended a reprimand instead of a trial. Link

The Ethics committee is composed of the following members:
DEMOCRATS - Barbara Boxer, Chairwoman, Mark Pryor and Sherrod Brown
REPUBLICANS - John Isakson, Vice Chairman, Pat Roberts and Jim Risch.

One has to wonder, how ethical are the members of the Ethics Committee? If you or I purposely evaded our taxes, I’m sure a jail term would be in order. I understand that Rangel is presumed to be innocent and a trial would clear that matter up. But if he accepts the reprimand, what happens next? Is he then free and clear and only has to pay the taxes that he mistakenly forgot? It’s hard to imagine that a man who writes the tax laws would not be aware of his own obligations. Is the Ethics Committee really ethical or are they simply trying to protect their own members. On other hand, are they trying to set a precedent for the next upcoming investigation of another Democrat – Maxine Waters?

Representative Waters “came under scrutiny after former Treasury Department officials said she helped arrange a meeting between regulators and executives at Boston-based OneUnited Bank without mentioning her husband's financial ties to the institution.” Link)

She is confident that she has done no wrong and will fight the charges. Like Rangel, she is innocent until proven guilty. I suspect that no trials will be forthcoming for either of them and like Rangel, she too will be offered a reprimand. Whether they take them or not, remains to be seen.

If this leads you to believe that I don’t trust most of the current members of Congress, you’re right.