Charlie Rangel: the expertise necessary to write our tax laws

Charlie Rangel is such a piece of work. He's the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the body responsible for originating tax legislation. But the poor guy can't seem to follow the laws coming out of his own committee. Mighty inconvenient that.

He's been a subject of an ethics violations for a host of sleazy behavior that you can read about here, here, here, here, here, and here.

But wait, that's not all. Now we find out about more assets that somehow Good ol' Charlie just neglected to report.

House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel , already beset by a series of ethics investigations, has disclosed more than $500,000 in previously unreported assets.

Among the new items on Rangel’s amended 2007 financial disclosure report were an account at the Congressional Federal Credit Union worth at least $250,000, an investment account with at least $250,000, land in southern New Jersey and stock in PepsiCo and fast food conglomerate Yum! Brands. None of those investments appeared on the original report, which was filled out by hand and filed in May 2008.

According to the original report, Rangel’s net worth was between $516,015 and $1,316,000, while the amended report showed his net worth, as of Dec. 31, 2007, roughly double that amount — at least $1,028,024 and as much as $2,495,000.

Rangel also revised his disclosed investment income from 2007. The original report showed he had received between $6,511 and $17,900, but the new report shows between $45,423 and $134,700. The report also includes eight previously undisclosed financial transactions.

How is neglecting to report half your net worth an honest mistake? How long will the Democrats maintain as the lead tax writer a guy who has so many problems accurately getting his own reports filled out correctly? Do they really want to give the Republicans the gift of heading into the 2010 elections with this guy's sleaze hanging off of them?