Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
John Carter Cheats on his Taxes after Accusing Rangel for Cheating on His
This article comes from: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/10/26/rep-john-carter-finds-his-missing-300-000-in-exxon-profits/
Texas Republican John Carter is the latest member of Congress to accuse a fellow member of wrongdoing while being guilty of essentially the same offense.
After initially denying that he had a problem, Carter admitted that he had failed to disclose almost $300,000 in profits from sales of Exxon stock in 2006 and 2007, Roll Call reported last week. Carter's lapse appears to involve a failure to report income rather than a failure to report taxes.
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By contrast, New York Democrat Charlie Rangel is under investigation for not paying taxes on $600,000 in income he failed to report. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Rangel's tax problems since 2008. Earlier this month, House Democrats agreed to expand the investigation into additional unreported assets that Rangel revealed in August. House Republicans had hoped to call a vote to remove Rangel from his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Carter has been the loudest voice in that regard. On Oct. 6, he announced that he was introducing a Privileged Resolution calling for Rangel to be removed as chairman of the committee that oversees the IRS and the federal tax code, until the 16-month investigation of multiple tax, federal disclosure and ethics-violation charges against Rangel has been concluded.
Just over two weeks later, Carter's office confirmed to Roll Call that the representative had failed to report $300,000 in profits on his congressional financial disclosure forms.
Continuing the hypocrisy that reigns in much of Washington, Carter thanked Roll Call for bringing the matter to his attention. Just like Rangel, who had claimed he made an honest mistake, Carter also said he had overlooked the income. Carter also argues that has problem involves merely failing to report income, while Rangel's involved failure to pay taxes. Carter, therefore, seems to endorse a double standard regarding the nature of financial reporting errors that he had recently criticized, saying, "We cannot tolerate a double standard in this country, one for the common man and another for the rich and powerful."
In defending his colleague, House Minority Leader John Boehner said that many other members of Congress have made the same mistake as Carter. To make matters worse, he also claimed that the mistake was not entirely Carter's fault -- Boehner said that Carter received bad advice from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (also known as the Ethics Committee). Boehner's office later retracted the accusation.
These shifting standards of accountability are very worrisome.
Carter is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for funding federal spending on areas such as defense, education and homeland security. Carter's committee may not be as powerful as Rangel's, but it nevertheless holds great responsibility.
With this latest disclosure, perhaps we should ask Carter the same question we posed to Charlie Rangel: Is it time for John Carter to go?
Both men are up for re-election next fall.
Hypocrisy is a cheap commodity in Washington.
Texas Republican John Carter is the latest member of Congress to accuse a fellow member of wrongdoing while being guilty of essentially the same offense.
After initially denying that he had a problem, Carter admitted that he had failed to disclose almost $300,000 in profits from sales of Exxon stock in 2006 and 2007, Roll Call reported last week. Carter's lapse appears to involve a failure to report income rather than a failure to report taxes.
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By contrast, New York Democrat Charlie Rangel is under investigation for not paying taxes on $600,000 in income he failed to report. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Rangel's tax problems since 2008. Earlier this month, House Democrats agreed to expand the investigation into additional unreported assets that Rangel revealed in August. House Republicans had hoped to call a vote to remove Rangel from his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Carter has been the loudest voice in that regard. On Oct. 6, he announced that he was introducing a Privileged Resolution calling for Rangel to be removed as chairman of the committee that oversees the IRS and the federal tax code, until the 16-month investigation of multiple tax, federal disclosure and ethics-violation charges against Rangel has been concluded.
Just over two weeks later, Carter's office confirmed to Roll Call that the representative had failed to report $300,000 in profits on his congressional financial disclosure forms.
Continuing the hypocrisy that reigns in much of Washington, Carter thanked Roll Call for bringing the matter to his attention. Just like Rangel, who had claimed he made an honest mistake, Carter also said he had overlooked the income. Carter also argues that has problem involves merely failing to report income, while Rangel's involved failure to pay taxes. Carter, therefore, seems to endorse a double standard regarding the nature of financial reporting errors that he had recently criticized, saying, "We cannot tolerate a double standard in this country, one for the common man and another for the rich and powerful."
In defending his colleague, House Minority Leader John Boehner said that many other members of Congress have made the same mistake as Carter. To make matters worse, he also claimed that the mistake was not entirely Carter's fault -- Boehner said that Carter received bad advice from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (also known as the Ethics Committee). Boehner's office later retracted the accusation.
These shifting standards of accountability are very worrisome.
Carter is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for funding federal spending on areas such as defense, education and homeland security. Carter's committee may not be as powerful as Rangel's, but it nevertheless holds great responsibility.
With this latest disclosure, perhaps we should ask Carter the same question we posed to Charlie Rangel: Is it time for John Carter to go?
Both men are up for re-election next fall.
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