The ethical woes mounting against Rep. Charles Rangel continue.  That prompted a blunt assessment of his future by NBC's political column, First Read:

Can Rangel survive? Charlie Rangel's political career may be in more jeopardy than folks realize. He's aggressively trying to beat back allegations that he got special real estate deals over the years, as well as special tax breaks. He's invited a congressional ethics probe. Rangel's also tearing a page out of the crisis management playbook by trying to blame the media for their coverage of the story. But in this case, the New York Times is fighting back. Democrats usually have a harder time playing the media bias card than Republicans. But Rangel's real problem may be with how aggressively he's trying to save himself. After a private meeting with Speaker Pelosi earlier this week, he came out and said she pledged to back him in his bid to keep his gavel at the Ways and Means Committee. But, apparently, he was too definitive about it, and House leadership folks are now making it clear she didn't totally pledge to keep him in his post. Instead, they said she expected him to be cleared of these charges. Republicans have been trying to ratchet up attention on this Rangel scandal by tagging incoming freshman Dems and asking them to return any money from Rangel. Ways and Means is NOT a minor committee chairmanship. If Rangel doesn't have this issue resolved by the start of the next Congress, don't be surprised if some Democrats push the leadership to at least ask him to step aside temporarily.

We heard a lot about the antics and ethics of Nevada's Governor, Jim Gibbons. But, yesterday, we learned that the state's Lieutenant Governor has been indicted on public corruption related crimes:

A grand jury has indicted Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki on charges stemming from his management of a multibillion-dollar college savings program in his previous position as Nevada's state treasurer.

The Clark County grand jury indictment handed up Tuesday names Krolicki and his former chief of staff in the treasurer's office, Kathryn Besser.

The indictment accuses Krolicki of two counts of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer, and two counts of misappropriation by a treasurer. The four counts all are felonies, and each carries a possible sentence of up to four years in prison.

Besser faces two counts, including being a principal to misappropriation and falsification of accounts and being a principal to misappropriation by a treasurer. The indictments were sought by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

This long overdue investigation appears to be picking up steam.  The Special Prosecutor, Nora Dannehy, is moving ahead:

A prosecutor who is investigating the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys has been meeting with defense lawyers, dispatching subpoenas and seeking information about the events, according to legal sources familiar with the case.

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy two months ago, after the department's Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility reported that they had hit a roadblock in their lengthy probe into whether political interference prompted the dismissals. Internal investigators said they had been stymied by the refusal of key witnesses, including former presidential adviser Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers, to cooperate.

By naming a federal prosecutor to determine whether crimes have been committed, the attorney general ensured that authorities would have the power to compel testimony and documents. Dannehy, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut, in recent weeks has met with lawyers and government officials involved in the case. A grand jury in the District has issued subpoenas, the sources said.

TPM Muckraker reports that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been contacted by Dennehy.

Candidates for federal office are prohibited from using campaign funds for personal purposes.  That's why CREW filed ethics complaints against Sarah Palin, the RNC and several members of Congress who purchased clothes with campaign funds. 

One of the members, Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), bought clothes with campaign funds after an airline lost his luggage.  According to the congressman's office, the airline reimbursed Andrews and he paid back the campaign.  But, it's not that simple as Melanie Sloan explained:

"Here's the problem: Even though they paid it back, your campaign funds are not your personal line of credit," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

"You and I don't have a slush fund when our luggage is lost that we can use until we're reimbursed by the airlines," Sloan continued. "Members can't treat their campaign funds like a personal credit line. That's not what it's there for."

Melanie added:

"The rules are very clear about clothing. You can't convert campaign funds for personal use. Buying clothing is a personal use," Sloan said. "It's a black-and-white rule." 

Members of Congress and federal candidates can't choose which laws they follow.  

Last month, CREW filed an FEC complaint against Palin and the RNC for improperly spending $150,000 on clothing for Palin and her family, in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).  Sarah Palin wasn't the only candidate to improperly use campaign funds to buy clothes.

Today, CREW filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against candidates for the House of Representatives and the presidency, for improperly spending campaign funds in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).  Our complaint can be found here.

According to FEC reports, clothing purchases were made by the campaign committees of Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Utah congressional candidate Bill Dew (R), North Carolina congressional candidate William Breazeale (R), and Andrew MacPherson, campaign staffer for Bob Barr‘s 2008 presidential campaign committee.

The amount each candidate spent on clothing is as follows:

Rep. Andrews, $952.04

Rep. Sanchez, $334.09

Bill Dew, $1,089.16

William Breazeale, $1,000

Andrew MacPherson, Barr campaign staffer, $500.00

These acquisitions violate campaign finance law.

FECA specifically prohibits a candidate for federal office from converting campaign funds to personal use. FEC regulations make clear that the prohibition applies to clothing purchases, such as those made for the above listed candidates.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today:

Sarah Palin wasn’t the only candidate to violate the law by using campaign money for clothing, several others did as well. Campaign finance laws are not optional, but if candidates can’t abide by these laws how can we trust them to be lawmakers?  There is no excuse for this conduct; the FEC should investigate these members and candidates immediately.

In April of 2007, CREW filed an FEC complaint against Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) " alleging multiple egregious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations..  The complaint and the accompanying materials can be found here."

Last month, the FEC fined the Martinez campaign $99,000 based on the allegations in CREW's complaint (without mentioning CREW's complaint.)

Today, we are learning that Senator Martinez, who was elected for the first time in 2004, will announce that he is not running for re-election.  In fact, Martinez may retire before the end of his term.