Ethics panel finds most violations proven against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat accused of stealing FEMA funds

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 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.

The Ethics Committee’s investigators had adopted in December a 59-page statement of alleged violations, which laid out the alleged campaign-finance scheme perpetrated by Cherfilus-McCormick. 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.