Now we have the answer to yesterday’s question. What does Nancy Pelosi plan to do about Charlie Rangel and his curiously poor memory when it comes to matters of finance? Not a whole lot.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will let Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) keep his chairmanship despite his failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets on federal disclosure forms, according to Democratic aides.

The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s latest misstep has received strong media scrutiny and prompted good-government watchdog groups to call for a special counsel investigation.

Pelosi’s main complaint is that she doesn’t want to convict the man before he’s had a chance for a full investigation, based only on media reports, and there is certainly some merit to that sentiment. Anyone can make accusations against a public official. But we’re not talking about a couple of anonymous bloggers calling Rangel a skank here. There certainly seems to be more than enough information to cast a cloud on credibility. Rangel doesn’t have to resign, but much like the case of Dollar Bill Jefferson, Pelosi could have at least applied pressure to have him step aside from Ways and Means.

Most Ethical Congress Evah!