Rep. Charles Rangel of CBC to Be Admonished for Ethics Violations

Rep. Charles Rangel will be admonished by the House Ethics Committee for violating regulations on receiving gifts. The problem stems from a trip that he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) took to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008. The committee found that the other five CBC members committed no wrong-doing but determined that Rangel "violated the House gift rules by accepting payment for reimbursement for travel to the 2007 and 2008 conferences," according to a statement.

While Rangel's staff knew that corporations had given money to Carib News, who sponsored the event, the ethics committee determined that these facts were not shared, when Rangel requested approval to take the trip. The committee also determined that Rangel did not know about the contributions.

"The committee does not find sufficient evidence to conclude, nor does it believe that it would discover additional evidence to alter its conclusion, that Representative Rangel had actual knowledge of the memoranda written by his staff. However, the report finds that Representative Rangel was responsible for the knowledge and actions of his staff in the performance of their official duties."

Charles Rangel is Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee - the body that writes tax law in the House. He is expected to repay the costs of the trips.

"I don't want to be critical of the committee but common sense dictates that members of Congress should not be held responsible for what could be the wrongdoing or mistakes or errors of staff unless there's reason to believe that the member knew or should have known," said Rangel. "And there's nothing in the record to indicate the latter."

There have been recent reports questioning the Congressional Black Caucus and its sources of funds. A recent New York Times article determined that the group's charitable organizations are funded by industries that may not be helpful to the black community, such as Rent-to-Own.