WASHINGTON -- A special House of Representatives subcommittee on Thursday outlined 13 counts of ethics violations against Rep. Charles Rangel, the former chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. The charges place his political career in jeopardy and could put Democrats on the defensive as November's elections approach.

The case against the 80-year-old, 20-term Democrat from New York unfolded in a trial-like setting of a House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct subcommittee following incorrect reports that Rangel's lawyers had struck a deal to avoid an embarrassing public reading of the charges against him.

The subcommittee detailed the 13 charges that stem from four matters: That he solicited donations for the Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York, seeking money from foundations and corporations that had interests before the House; that he made ``errors and omissions'' in failing to disclose $600,000 on his financial disclosure statements; that he used a rent-controlled apartment to house his campaign committees; and that he failed to report and pay taxes on rental income on a beach villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.