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It might still prove to be a toothless beast, but the House ethics committee voted to expand its investigation of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel.  Reports ABC News:

The House ethics committee announced today that members have voted to expand their inquiry into House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel's financial irregularities, to include changes he made to financial disclosure statements.

It's the latest in several expansions of the Rangel probe over the past year, and it comes as Republicans are stepping up pressure on Democrats to remove Rangel, D-N.Y., from his powerful post atop the tax-writing committee.

The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct also said in a brief statement that it has authorized nearly 150 subpoenas in the Rangel investigations, has interviewed 34 witnesses who have accumulated some 2,100 pages of transcripts, and reviewed more than 12,000 pages of documents. Those details suggest a more aggressive investigation than previously known. 

GOP lawmakers used the announcement of an expanded probe to renew their calls for Rangel to step aside pending the ethics committee's findings.

It's a tough issue for the Dems.  He's a powerful and popular guy, a leading African-American who has handed out a lot of favors to a lot of people.  On the other side, he appears to have violated more than a few laws and rules.  What's a congressional Dem to do?

As Philip Klein reported, even some liberals are worried about the refusal of the Democrats to clean house. Protecting a "culture of corruption" could come back to haunt them in 2010 like it hurt Republicans in 2006.