After a two-year investigation, a four-member bipartisan House investigative panel concluded that Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) was in violation of ethics rules of the House of Representatives. Rangel’s 40-year legacy is in jeopardy of being tarnished as the scandal of a public trial looms in the horizon.

Charges against Rangel allege that while he was the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, he solicited donations from people with business before the committee, and that he improperly used his position to preserve a tax loophole worth more than half a billion dollars benefiting a firm which pledged $1 million towards the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York. Rangel also allegedly sent improper letters on congressional letterhead to over 100 foundations, requesting gifts of $30 million for the Rangel Center.

He’s also being accused of failing to pay taxes on rental income for his Caribbean home in the Dominican Republic, as well as receiving four rent stabilized apartments below market value, which he used as his campaign offices. The panel also alleges that he did not properly disclose more than $600,000 in income and assets. In total, Rangel was hit with 13 ethics charges that he vehemently denies.

In the midst of the House ethics committee’s accusations, Rangel is currently seeking a 21st term representing New York’s 15th District in Harlem, with no plans to withdrawal from the race. Many democrats are pushing for Rangel to resign for fear that the scandal will affect their ability to retain their control in the House. The public trial before the House ethics committee is not expected to start until after the September 14^th primary, which may help Rangel win reelection and divert attention away from the scandal as he campaigns in Harlem, but Democrats fear that a public trial in the midst of midterm elections will give Republican opponents fodder to use against them.

Many supporters believe that with 40 years of service, Rangel’s popularity will win him another term. Rangel faces four fairly unknown opponents, including forerunner state assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, who lost to Rangel in 1994, and whose father lost his seat to Rangel back in 1960. The others are Joyce Johnson, Vince Morgan, and Jonathan Tasini.

President Obama weighed in last week, hinting that Rangel may want to avoid a public scandal. “I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well, but these allegations are very troubling,” he told CBS, “I’m sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens.”

In a written statement prepared by Rangel’s legal team and submitted to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct stated, “Congressman Rangel did not dispense any political favors, he did not intentionally violate any law, rule or regulation, and he did not misuse his public office for private gain.” If the bipartisan panel finds Rangel guilty, he could face censure, a fine or even expulsion from the House.

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