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Meanwhile, "exasperated watchdog groups are calling for a special counsel to intervene in the ethics committee probe of Rep. Charles Rangel" as reported by Susan Crabtree for The Hill:
The good-government officials say they are astounded by Rangel's (D-N.Y.) disclosure last week of at least $650,000 in assets that he previously had failed to list on his House financial disclosure forms. * * * Some in the watchdog community are tired of waiting for the ethics committee. "Appointing a special counsel is a step the committee could and should take," said Lisa Gilbert, democracy advocate for U.S. PIRG. "There really couldn't be a situation where there is a more overt case for doing so than with Rangel … it's that serious and far-ranging." Meredith McGehee at the Campaign Legal Center said the watchdog community should get together in the remaining days of the August recess and discuss the need for the appointment of an independent attorney to examine Rangel's financial reporting irregularities, as well as a series of other charges, including failing to report $75,000 worth of rental income on a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic. The ethics committee investigation has been expanded several times, as new charges started piling up around the chairman of the tax-writing committee. * * * "I want to see the House ethics process succeed," said Public Citizen's Craig Holman. "I'm sitting here with my fingers crossed. I'd hate to see the ethics committee abdicate its responsibilities, but if the ethics committee continues to drag everything on here, then at some point, it would be appropriate to name a special counsel." "We think it's an outrage that [the Rangel] probe has gone on for far too long," added Common Cause's Mary Boyle. "It erodes public confidence and embarrasses the institution of Congress. We feel that the OCE and the ethics committee should do their jobs as fast as they can to try to resolve this issue that has been lingering ... for a year."
