A US House ethics panel yesterday convicted veteran Democratic Representative Charles Rangel, who once held wide sway over US tax and trade policy, of financial wrongdoing.

The subcommittee found the lawmaker guilty of 11 violations, including improper solicitation of political donations and failure to accurately report his personal income, after roughly four hours of deliberations.

We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the fact of the law. And I believe that we have accomplished that mission,” said Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren, who chaired the proceedings.

It was not immediately clear when the full ethics committee would announce its recommended punishment, the worst of which could be calling for Mr Rangel, 80, to be expelled from the House.

Mr Rangel, who on Monday left the hearing in protest, charged that he had been “deprived of due process rights, right to counsel and was not even in the room” for the verdict and said he hoped the full panel would treat him “more fairly”.

The 20-term lawmaker from New York City’s Harlem district urged those weighing his punishment to “take into account my entire 40 years of service to the Congress before making any decisions on sanctions”.