Ethics panel expands Rangel investigation

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. House ethics panel voted to expand its investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to include allegations he helped a donor retain a tax loophole.

The ethics committee's announcement raised doubts about whether it could complete its probe of Rangel before the new congressional session begins in January, Politico reported Wednesday.

In a statement, the panel said it authorized an investigative subcommittee to examine whether Rangel violated House rules after allegations surfaced that he helped a million-dollar donor to the Charles B. Rangel Center at City College of New York retain a lucrative tax break.

At Rangel's request, the ethics committee began investigating his personal finances in late September. Media reports have detailed Rangel's control of several rent-stabilized units in a Harlem apartment building where he lives, his failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in income on a Dominican Republican vacation home and his alleged use of official congressional stationery as part of his fundraising efforts.