The House Ethics committee has opened an investigation into trips taken to the Caribbean by Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and four other House Democrats.

The official release from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct states that a newly formed investigative subcommittee will look into "officially-connected travel in 2007 and 2008 that was sponsored, funded or organized by an organization known as Carib News or Carib News Foundation."

Along with Rangel, the inquiry will include four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus: Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Mich.), Donald Payne (N.J.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.), and Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Christensen.

This marks the latest in a run of ethics issues for Rangel, who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Previous reports indicate potential financial disclosure issues and allegations that he helped obtain a tax loophole for a donor to the Charles B. Rangel Center at the City College of New York.

(Cross-posted on Politics Nation)