Washington — The House Ethics Committee on Friday said it has found most of the allegations against Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick "had been proven," but said it would wait to recommend any possible disciplinary action until after Congress' upcoming April recess.
The Florida Democrat is accused of stealing $5 million in federal pandemic relief funds and using some of the money to boost her congressional campaign. She was indicted in November on federal charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The announcement from the panel came one day after it held a rare public hearing into the accusations against Cherfilus-McCormick to determine whether any of the alleged violations "had been proven by clear and convincing evidence." The hearing was held by an adjudicatory subcommittee made up of eight Republican and Democratic House members, which went on to determine that all but two of the 27 alleged violations had been proven.
House Republicans are pushing to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress because of the allegations, and the findings by the Ethics Committee could bolster that effort. When the full committee reconvenes for a hearing following the April recess to discuss any potential sanctions against the Florida Democrat, it could recommend expulsion as a punishment. Such a move could lead Democrats to support her removal from the House.
Already, at least one Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, has indicated that Cherfilus-McCormick should no longer serve in Congress.
"You can't crime your way into legitimate power. Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed," she wrote on social media.
Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida, who has been leading the push to oust Cherfilus-McCormick, said in a post on X on Thursday that he is prepared to move forward with an effort to expel the Democratic congresswoman.
If the House votes to remove Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress, she would be just the seventh House member to be expelled. The lower chamber voted in 2023 to oust embattled Republican George Santos from Congress after a report from the House Ethics Committee found there was "substantial evidence" he broke the law and engaged in a "complex web" of illegal activity involving his finances. Santos was indicted on nearly two dozen federal charges related to alleged fraud and illegal use of campaign funds. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in 2024, but President Trump commuted his sentence last October.
In the case involving Cherfilus-McCormick, Ethics Committee investigators had adopted in December a 59-page statement of alleged violations, which laid out an alleged campaign-finance scheme. The investigative subcommittee said in the report that it had determined there was "substantial reason to believe" the congresswoman engaged in wrongdoing.
The report shed new light on Cherfilus-McCormick's efforts to bolster her congressional campaign after two unsuccessful bids in 2018 and 2020. She was elected to represent Florida's 20th Congressional District in a special election in 2022, replacing the late Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Democrat, following his death in 2021.
During Thursday's hearing, Cherfilus-McCormick's lawyer unsuccessfully sought to postpone any action by the panel until after her criminal trial and warned that moving forward with the poceeding would jeopardize the congresswoman's right to a fair trial.
Federal prosecutors have accused Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-conspirators of stealing disaster funds, laundering the proceeds and then using the money to support her 2021 campaign for Congress. The charges relate to more than $5 million in overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Services from the Florida Division of Emergency Management, according to the indictment. Trinity Healthcare was co-founded by the congresswoman's mother and stepfather, and had received a contract from the state to assist with COVID-19 vaccine registration.
Prosecutors said that instead of returning the money that was overpaid, Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother moved the funds to several other bank accounts to "disguise its source," and transferred more than $1 million to accounts tied to Cherfilus-McCormick's congressional campaign.
The Justice Department also said that the congresswoman bought herself a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring and falsely inflated business expenses and charitable contributions to reduce her tax liability.
The Florida Democrat has denied wrongdoing and claimed the indictment is a "sham."
In its own investigation into alleged wrongdoing by Cherfilus-McCormick, the Ethics Committee said it found "substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct." In addition to identifying the millions of dollars in overpaid funds, House investigators also laid out an alleged pattern of inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports across several election cycles, including improper contributions falsely reported as personal loans, acceptance of improper contributions and inflated cash-on-hand numbers.
Lawmakers said in their report that the timing of transactions to her campaign aligned with transfers from Cherfilus-McCormick's health care company and accused the congresswoman of using the overpayments to buy luxury items, including jewelry from Tiffany & Co., a Tesla and designer clothing.
While the Florida Democrat initially cooperated with the panel's investigation, she eventually invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her lawyer said Cherfilus-McCormick disputes the allegations and the report.
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