charlierangel1May wonders never cease, Crooked Charlie get’s bumped from the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee seat.

“Sources say Harlem Democrat Charles Rangel will step down as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee soon, NBC News has learned.
He may make the move as early as tonight as pressure mounts and sources told NBC that either Michigan Democratic Rep Sander Levin or California Democrat Pete Stark will temporarily take over the committee.

Some details still need to be ironed out, but the sources said Rangel has been pushed to step down before the House voted on a bill to forcefully strip him of the coveted chairmanship.
When questioned directly by NBC News Tuesday night, however, Rangel denied the move. Asked if he was chairmain tonight and would he still be chairman tomorrow Rangel said, “You bet your life on it.”

But sources still said he would be out soon. A Democratic member close to the situation told NBC News “tomorrow [Rangel] will take a leave of abesence until ethics investigation is over.”
Rangel has been under fire ever since an ethics committee released a report Thursday that found that he violated House rules by accepting two corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean.
Rangel countered Friday that the ethics report “exonerates” him because it says there is no evidence that he knew the trips were sponsored by corporations. The report said his staff knew who paid for the trips. Following the report, even Democrats began asking Rangel to step down.

“The citizens of his home state sent him here, that’s their decision,” said Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Mississippi), who lead the charge in asking Rangel to relinquish his post. “But members of the [Democratic Caucus] made him chairman of that committee, and he should step down until all this is resolved.”

Believe it when it happens. Regardless Democrats lose the “moral supremacy” mantel – if they ever really had one – over this. Not the first case of Pelosi’s reluctance to “clear the swamp” of her own kind – William Jefferson anyone?

Meanwhile the Politico reports a defiant Rangel:

“Charlie Rangel emerged from a closed-door meeting in Nancy Pelosi’s office Tuesday night to declare that he’s still the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and hasn’t agreed to give up his gavel – even as some media outlets were reporting that he’d done just that.”

Further, the NY Times is more subdued.

“The ethics panel is still investigating more serious allegations regarding Mr. Rangel’s fund-raising, his failure to pay federal taxes on rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic and his use of four rent-stabilized apartments provided by a Manhattan real estate developer.

And with Republicans preparing to force a vote on Wednesday on whether Mr. Rangel should give up his chairmanship, support among his fellow Democrats appeared to be crumbling. Mr. Rangel huddled in a meeting with senior party leaders, including Ms. Pelosi, and officials said Democrats were urging him to step down at least temporarily.

As he left his crisis meeting with party leaders at about 8 p.m., Mr. Rangel insisted that he was not stepping down. Asked if he was going to remain as chairman, he said, “You bet your life.”

Pushed on whether he would step aside temporarily, he replied, flatly, “No.”

He said he was headed back to his office to work on jobs legislation, and when a reporter asked if he would still be the committee chairman on Wednesday, Mr. Rangel said, “Yes, and I don’t lie to the press.”

No, he saves that for his tax returns. Going to be fun to watch this!