Miller for News Rep. Charlie Rangel has been charged with multiple ethics violations by a House committee.

It looks like Rep. Charlie Rangel will finally get his day in court.

A House panel said Thursday that its investigative subcommittee charged the Harlem Democrat with multiple ethics violations, and it will form an "adjudicatory subcommittee" to weigh the matter. 

"I am pleased that, at long last, sunshine will pierce the cloud of serious allegations that have been raised against me in the media," Rangel said in a statement. 

"I will be glad to respond to the allegations at such time as the Ethics Committee makes them public." 

The charges - though not immediately specified - are a serious blow to the former Ways and Means chairman and an election-year headache for Democrats. 

Rangel's critics say this could be the blow that forces him out of office. "I think he’ll have to resign," said Melanie Sloan, head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, whose group has already called for Rangel's resignation. 

"If he doesn’t, things could get ugly, Sloan said. "It’s like an indictment, and now he goes through a trial." The subcommittee, which includes no members from the investigative team, will meet next Thursday in an open "organizational meeting." 

The group ultimately will "determine whether any counts in the statement of alleged violation have been proved by clear and convincing evidence and to make findings of fact." 

Rangel has been under fire for nearly two years over his failure to report rental income, his fund-raising activities for a CUNY center named for him, and the use of four rent-controlled apartments. 

He was forced to step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee earlier this year after the ethics panel found he took a pair of Caribbean trips that he should have known were sponsored by corporations, and therefore not allowed. 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/22/2010-07-22_house_panel_charges_new_york_rep_charles_rangel_with_ethics_misdeeds.html#ixzz0uT1lDbPy