The person in line to take over the Ways & Means Committee if Rangel has to step down

California's Pete Stark has a few ethical problems of his own. From Politico:

During the interview with OCE, which refers cases to the House ethics committee, Stark was a bundle of contradictions, according to the report.

Stark initially said he didn’t know what the tax credit was but later said he did not want to discuss what he knew. Then he said he knew the application specified one must be registered to vote in Maryland to apply. He acknowledged that neither he nor his wife is registered to vote in Maryland.

Stark originally said he did not recall completing the application online. Later in the interview, the memorandum said, he said he knew he had completed the application.

OCE investigators wrote that Stark “certified to Maryland that he is registered to vote in Maryland, while in fact he is registered to vote in California. Stark later changed his certification.” He later denied such a situation occurred.

According to the report, Stark provided the OCE with a handwritten reproduction of the application he submitted to Maryland, on which he indicated he told taxation officials that he was not registered to vote in the state. OCE later obtained a version from the state, which indicated Stark said he was registered to vote in Maryland. . . .