Rangel Charged With 13 Violations of House Ethics Rules

Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.) chaired the 21-month investigation and laid out the charges against the congressman who is a 40-year member of Congress and the House’s fourth most-senior member. They include charges that Rangel used public resources for personal gain, omitted hundreds of thousands of dollars on his financial disclosure forms, violated the House franking statute, and engaged in conduct "reflecting discredibility on the House."

The two most serious inquiries have focused on Rangel's failure to declare $239,000 to $831,000 in assets on his income disclosure forms. And, a rather unserious inquiry concerning his effort to raise money for a private center named after him at City College of New York using his congressional letterhead.

If Rangel is found to have violated House rules by a committee of his peers, a sentencing hearing will decide his punishment, which could include a fine, censure, reprimand or expulsion.