'I See No Reason Why Mr. Rangel Should Step Down'

Proving she's as arrogant as she is clueless, Nancy Pelosi just giftwrapped a campaign issue for the GOP. They'd be wise to open the present and share it with the entire country.

Embattled US Rep. Charles Rangel will not give up his plum leadership position on one of the most powerful committees in Congress, his lawyer said yesterday.

Despite growing calls for him to step aside as chairman of the tax-law-writing Ways and Means Committee - because he failed to report rental income from his Dominican Republic hideaway on his own tax returns - Rangel will stay put as the House Ethics Committee investigates his personal finances.

"Mr. Rangel has not considered, nor has it ever been on the table, that he would step aside from his current position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee," said the Harlem Democrat's lawyer, Lanny Davis.

Since Pelosi doesn't see any reasons, let's provide some for her.

* The congressman's Sunny Isles, Fla., condo was purchased in 2004 for $335,000 and listed as a rental, although he didn't report income on it. He then sold it in 2007 for a $60,000 profit, but didn't list the sale, as is required.

* He never disclosed, as mandated, the sale of his Washington, DC, home in 2000. Property records list the price as $500,000.

* He only sporadically listed rental income for a West 132nd Street home. Then, when he unloaded it in 2004, he didn't report the sale. The home's value was listed as less than $100,000 in 2002; in 2004, Rangel said it was worth $250,000 to $500,000.

* The value of his personal portfolio fluctuated wildly without explanation. The investments he reported grew from $50,001 in 2000 to somewhere between $177,000 and $530,000 in 2001. In 2002, he reported new holdings worth $115,000 to $315,000.

Normal people would be facing jail time for such shenanigans.

And we're not even going to mention his four rent-controlled apartments in the same Harlem building.

Previously.

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