Misconduct Findings Against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
A subcommittee from the House Committee on Ethics has confirmed 25 counts of misconduct against Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
During a lengthy meeting that extended into the early hours of Friday, the committee determined that nearly all of the charges against Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) were supported by “clear and convincing evidence,” as stated by the committee’s chairman in a press release.
The allegations, outlined in a December Statement of Alleged Violations (SAV), primarily concern financial misconduct, specifically the misappropriation of funds for her campaign. A report from the Office of Congressional Ethics elaborates that Cherfilus-McCormick may have granted “special favors or privileges to friends” when handling requests for funding from her congressional office.
The two charges that didn’t hold up were related to claims of money laundering involving a foreign company and failing to cooperate fully in the ethics investigations.
In November, a Florida grand jury indicted Cherfilus-McCormick for allegedly misappropriating $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to finance her congressional campaign in 2021. The indictment asserts that she and her brother received overpayments from FEMA for their family’s healthcare business, where she had served as CEO.
Cherfilus-McCormick has rejected the allegations, requesting that the ethics proceedings be paused until the criminal case is resolved, emphasizing that the allegations overlap significantly with an ongoing federal investigation. She stated that continuing the ethics process could jeopardize her constitutional rights.
The press release indicates that any sanctions, including the possibility of expulsion from the House, will be determined after Congress returns from its recess in April.
In a statement reported by news outlets, Cherfilus-McCormick expressed, “I look forward to proving my innocence. Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: showing up for the great people of Florida’s 20th District who sent me to Washington to fight for them.”
