After the bipartisan House Ethics Committee announced last week that they had “substantial reason to believe” that U.S. Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) violated a range of ethics rules and potentially broke the law, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) repeatedly called on U.S. Representative Kendrick Meek (D-FL) to return at least $5,500 in donations that he received from Rangel’s campaign committee and leadership PAC.

National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar reports today that a second House Democrat, U.S. Representative Walt Minnick (D-ID), called for Rangel’s resignation from Congress, “a move that’s likely to lead a number of his vulnerable House colleagues to follow suit.”

Yet despite these serious charges against Rangel and the fact that his fellow Democrats have returned an estimated $588,000 of his tainted campaign cash, Meek refuses to return his contributions and continues to stand by his scandal-plagued colleague.

The NRSC once again calls on Meek to return Rangel’s tainted contributions.

“By refusing to return Charlie Rangel’s dirty money, Kendrick Meek continues to demonstrate that he simply can’t be trusted to stand up for ethical standards and accountability in Washington. As his fellow Democrats dump more than half-a-million dollars of Rangel’s tainted cash, will Meek finally call for Rangel’s resignation and return his campaign contributions, or will he continue to disappoint Florida voters by condoning Rangel’s unethical behavior?” asked NRSC Press Secretary Amber Marchand.

Background Information:

Kendrick Meek Has Accepted At Least $5,500 From Rangel’s Campaign Committee And Leadership PAC:

 Kendrick Meek Accepted $500 From Rangel For Congress In July 2002. (Federal Election Commission Website, www.fec.gov, Accessed 2/25/10)

In The 2008 Cycle, Kendrick Meek Accepted $5,000 From Rangel’s Leadership PAC. (Center For Responsive Politics Website, http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00302588&cycle=2008, Accessed 2/25/10