WASHINGTON — After a uncommon and dramatic public listening to, a particular House Ethics subcommittee on Friday discovered Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., guilty of 25 ethics charges, capping a three-year investigation into allegations she stole hundreds of thousands in federal aid funds and funneled some of that to her congressional marketing campaign.
The secret vote got here after Cherfilus-McCormick and her legal professional sat for an almost seven-hour televised House trial, after which lawmakers on the panel deliberated in a single day for hours earlier than reaching their resolution.
Cherfilus-McCormick has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in a separate however associated federal felony case.
(*25*)“I look forward to proving my innocence,” the congresswoman said in a statement. “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.”
The resolution seemingly units the stage for Cherfilus-McCormick’s ouster from Congress. Even earlier than the trial, GOP Rep. Greg Steube, a fellow Floridian, had threatened to pressure a vote on expelling the congresswoman from the House.
After Friday’s improvement, a number of Democrats publicly referred to as on Cherfilus-McCormick to both resign or be expelled.
“You can’t crime your way into legitimate power,” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., posted on X. “Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed.”
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., didn’t reply when requested Friday if Cherilus-McCormick ought to stay within the House.
The Ethics Committee mentioned it would maintain a listening to after the House’s two-week spring recess to find out any potential sanctions, which may embody censure, removing from committees or expulsion.
There is latest precedent for expelling a member of Congress earlier than the conclusion of their federal felony case. In 2023, the House expelled then-Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in a bipartisan 311-114 vote, making him the primary House member in fashionable historical past to be expelled earlier than a federal conviction.
The Justice Department indicted Cherfilus-McCormick in November on charges that she stole and laundered $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. Her household’s well being care firm, Trinity Healthcare Services, had been working with FEMA by way of a Covid-19 vaccination contract, however then acquired a $5 million overpayment. The Justice Department alleged she and her brother by no means paid it again, routed it by way of a number of accounts after which used it to fund her profitable 2022 particular election marketing campaign.
