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The House Ethics Committee has found “clear and convincing evidence” that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick violated House rules, after a rare marathon public hearing Thursday night.
The Florida Democrat was indicted in November over allegations she stole $5 million in disaster relief funds and used it to bankroll her 2021 special election campaign. Federal prosecutors allege she funneled money to support her campaign using FEMA overpayments distributed to Trinity Healthcare services, her family’s company. She pleaded not guilty.
“After careful deliberation that lasted until well past midnight, the adjudicatory subcommittee found that Counts 1-15 and 17-26 of the SAV [Statement of Alleged Violations] had been proven,” a committee statement read.
Cherfilus-McCormick has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
“I look forward to proving my innocence,” she said in a statement to NPR Friday morning. “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.”
Investigators on a bipartisan subcommittee have been probing the matter for two years. They alleged the congresswoman committed 27 violations, including improper receipt of funds and commingling of personal and campaign funds.
The subcommittee reviewed over 33,000 documents and conducted 28 witness interviews.
In April, the committee will recommend a punishment to be voted on by the full House, something that could range from a censure, removal from committees, or expulsion itself.
The last member to be expelled was then-Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in 2023. Santos was later sentenced on charges of wire fraud and identity theft. President Trump commuted his prison term.
Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote from the chamber.
Some Republicans have already signaled plans to call for Cherfilus-McCormick’s expulsion and at least one Democrat, Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said Cherfilus-McCormick should resign or be removed.
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Attempt to delay
Cherfilus-McCormick’s new legal counsel, William Barzee, repeatedly told lawmakers he had less than 3 weeks working with his client and needed more time to prepare.
He moved to delay the hearing or keep it behind closed doors, arguing a public hearing could jeopardize his client’s potential jury pool in her criminal case.
“The pool of potential jurors who are going to be hearing this criminal case are going to be inundated with information about what takes place in this committee,” Barzee said during the ethics hearing. “How can she possibly go into court and have a fair trial if her jurors have already heard that she was found guilty by the House of Representatives?”
The criminal trial is expected to start in April, but Barzee said it could be delayed until the summer of fall.
Ray Rhatican, counsel for the ethics committee, said there is “no guarantee respondent’s criminal trial will take place this year or soon thereafter.”
The panel, which is made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, denied the request.
“At a time when public confidence in our institution is so low, this committee’s role in enforcing Congressional Ethics’ process and defending the integrity of the House could not be more important,” said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, the panel’s top-ranking Democrat.
Barzee made the case that Cherfilus-McCormick’s prior counsel advised her not to participate with the probe over concerns of self-incrimination, and he repeatedly called for bringing witnesses before the panel for him to cross-examine.
“You are aware that you could have called witnesses today, right?” asked Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va.
Barzee replied that he was aware but had needed more time to prepare as new counsel.
At one point, Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., pushed back on Barzee’s suggestion that the process didn’t give ample time for the congresswoman.
“For you to now allege that all this information is new, that we’ve not tried to gather this information for the last two years, I find that offensive,” he said.
Brittney Pescatore, director of investigations for the subcommittee, said Cherfilus-McCormick was provided with many opportunities to cooperate.
“She could have provided a list of witnesses that she wanted to call here today, she did not submit a list of witnesses,” Pescatore said. “She has also been provided with every opportunity throughout the two-year investigation, because the investigation is not a prosecution, it’s an effort by her colleagues to understand what happened.”
Charges themselves
The panel investigators alleged Cherfilus-McCormick improperly funneled millions of dollars to her campaign directly and through intermediaries.
Committee counsel provided flow charts illustrating how millions from the Florida Department of Emergency Management Funds were allegedly funneled from the congresswoman’s family’s company to her campaign, along with a chart showing how money was allegedly funneled from the Haitian government to her campaign vendors.
Barzee, the congresswoman’s lawyer, said they “do not accept the facts as they are alleged by staff.”
He argued Cherfilus-McCormick was entitled to the money transferred from her family’s company, and referenced a profit-sharing agreement to substantiate that claim.
“She was entitled to every single penny she received from Trinity,” Barzee said.
Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, pointed out the agreement Barzee showed the panel was unsigned.
“I think it’s frankly offensive that you would suggest that an unsigned chart actually qualifies as a profit-sharing agreement,” he said. “If, in fact, your client was entitled to that under a profit-sharing agreement, I would think day one I would say, hey give me the signed profit-sharing agreement, let me turn it over. And your client in two years has not done that, even though she was asked by counsel to do that at the very beginning.”
