Ethics Panel Concludes Charlie Rangel Broke House Rules

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) broke congressional rules by failing to disclose the financial details of a trip to the Caribbean, a House ethics committee concluded Thursday.

The finding was related to accusations that Rangel and four other members of Congress traveled to a conference in St. Maarten on the dime of a donor who employs lobbyists, a violation of House rules. Rangel falsely reported the trip was paid for by the Carib News Foundation, which had underwritten his travels in the past, The New York Times reported.

The four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Caribbean trips in 2007 and 2008 were exonerated.

Rangel, who chairs the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has been under investigation by two House committees for over a year in connection with allegations of tax evasion not disclosing assets. He has admitted failing to report up to $600,000 in income from rental properties.

A separate inquiry is also looking into an allegation that Rangel improperly used his office to raise money for an academic center named for him.