By GREGG BIRNBAUM
Posted: 4:38 am
July 19, 2008
Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel said last night he may ask the House Ethics Committee to look at his three rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem.
Rangel's statement came a day after he said the ethics panel had no business investigating his living arrangement, which the veteran Democratic lawmaker has maintained is completely appropriate.
The issue for the Ethics Committee to consider concerning the apartments is whether the difference between the reduced rent that Rangel pays and the market value of the units constitutes a "gift" banned under House rules.
"I am making inquiries to the Ethics Committee. And if I can really stretch your idea of a gift, which is hard for me to do, I would take that to the ethics [board]. And I'm thinking of that this weekend," Rangel said last night on NY1 News.
Rangel has also said he will ask the panel whether he can use congressional stationery to solicit funds for the controversial CUNY-affiliated center named after him.
