According to the House Ethics Committee, House Ways & Means Chairman Charlie Rangel may not have known that his foreign trips were illegally funded but his staffers did, and he is as responsible for their affairs as he is his own. At a press conference, however, Rangel disagreed, arguing that the buck does not stop with the boss, and that the boss is not responsible for his own office. Pretty head-slapping stuff. From The Hill:

In a hastily arranged press conference Thursday night, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) confirmed that the House ethics committee found that he violated House gift rules by accepting reimbursement for travel on 2007 and 2008 trips to the Caribbean.

He said the panel found that two of his staffers – one who was later fired – knew that corporate sponsors were underwriting the trip in violation of new House rules put in place after Democrats won the majority in 2006. The ethics committee, however, did not find any evidence that Rangel himself knew about the corporate sponsorships although the panel said he is responsible for his staffers’ actions.

Rangel said the committee’s findings served as a public admonishment of his actions and he was ordered to repay the costs of the trip.

“Common sense dictates that members of Congress shouldn’t be held responsible for what could be the wrongdoing or the error of their staff unless they think the member knew or should have known. And there is nothing in the record on that,” Rangel told reporters Thursday night. “I have to now deal with my lawyer to figure out what the hell they mean,” he added. “…That what a staff member does but a member doesn’t know it –- the member could be charged and admonished publicly for it?"

He may or may not be corrupt, but Rangel is a buffoon who doesn't pay close enough attention to details, and that gets him - and his party - in trouble. The man should have resigned from his chairmanship a long time ago; this is nothing but more proof of that.