Charlie Rangel Reveals at Least $500K in Additional Income

Rep. Charlie Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has revised his 2007 income report to include more than half a million dollars in additional income. The exact amount is not known, as the report only includes income ranges; Rangel's additional income could be as little as $500,000 or as much as $1.38 million.

The New York congressman already is under investigation for a potential ethics violation regarding an apartment deal in Harlem, but the new discrepancies in his 2007 finances may be the most serious evidence yet of an ethics breach.

In his original 2007 report, Rangel listed his net worth at between $516,015 and $1,316,000. But the amended report shows Rangel making at least $1,028,024 and as much as $2,495,000 -- double what he originally reported. New items on the revised report include an account at the Congressional Federal Credit Union, an investment account, land in Glassboro, N.J., and stock in PepsiCo. Rangel also downgraded the value of his vacation home in the Dominican Republic without explanation.

Rangel's ethics troubles began last summer when the New York Times reported that he and his wife lived in four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem and paid only half of the market rate for rent. The House Ethics Committee appointed a subcommittee in July 2008 to investigate the situation. (Rangel said the deal was "fair," and called it a benefit of longtime city residence.) By December, the probe had expanded to include $75,000 of unpaid taxes on the Dominican vacation home, and Rangel's help getting a tax loophole for a donor.

House Republicans have called for Rangel to resign as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stood firmly behind him. Pelosi had hoped the investigation would conclude by January of this year, but additional allegations have pushed it well past that date.