Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) resigned from the House of Representatives on Tuesday moments before facing punishment from the House Ethics Committee.
As reported on Wednesday’s AM Update, the Florida representative was just minutes away from a high-stakes Ethics Committee hearing to determine potential punishment after the panel found she had committed a series of ethics violations stemming from allegations that she improperly kept a $5 million overpayment in COVID relief funds sent to her family’s healthcare company and funneled some of that money into her campaign.
The Ethics Probe
In March, the Ethics Committee substantiated 25 of 27 accusations against Cherfilus-McCormick, including campaign finance violations, false financial disclosures, and misuse of official funds. Over the course of its investigation, the panel made 30 requests for information, issued 59 subpoenas, conducted 28 interviews, and reviewed more than 33,000 pages of records, according to CNN.
Cherfilus-McCormick was also facing a push from Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) to force a vote on her expulsion later this week. Expulsion votes are rare in Congress and require a two-thirds majority, but, in recent weeks, support for her removal had been growing among Democrats. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told Fox News Tuesday, “Let’s just get this over with.”
The congresswoman has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but she announced her resignation in a statement on social media in which she blasted the investigation into her alleged misconduct as a “witch hunt” that “trampled on” her “due process rights” and “tarnished” her “good” name.
“This was not a fair process,” Cherfilus-McCormick claimed. “The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense. By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself.”
Cherfilus-McCormick suggested she was taking the high road by stepping down. “Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district,” the statement read.
Shortly after Cherfilus-McCormick’s announcement, Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MI) defended the probe. “This was not a rush to judgment, as some would claim… This was a very deliberate process to gather information into allegations that were extremely serious and extremely complicated,” he said. “There were multiple witnesses that were spoken to over a two-year period. There were tens of thousands of documents that were subpoenaed, gathered, and reviewed.”
“Throughout this process, Ms. McCormick… had multiple ample opportunities to present exculpatory evidence to the committee and to address the committee, both by way of a voluntary statement and then also to comply with the subpoena that was issued in this case,” he added.
Criminal Indictment
While the resignation will allow Cherfilus-McCormick to avoid being punished by her colleagues, her troubles aren’t over. In a separate case, the former congresswoman was indicted in November on charges tied to the same $5 million overpayment.
Federal prosecutors alleged she and several associates stole COVID relief funds and laundered the money into her 2021 congressional campaign. Trial set for early 2027, and she faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
At the time of the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick told a reporter it was “unjust” and a potentially racially charged effort to intimidate her and distract from other issues. “It seems like these intimidation tactics have been pervasive. We spent all week seeing different members getting censured, all in hopes of intimidating and kind of distracting from the Epstein Files,” she claimed in November. “I look forward to my day in court so I can prove myself and actually state the truth.”
“If this is what Congress is becoming, where they’re always trying to intimidate you, scare tactics, especially attacking minorities, black and brown people, then we’re going to have to keep fighting for the district,” she dded.
The Latest Resignation
Cherfilus-McCormick is now the third lawmaker to resign from Congress in the past week. Congressmen Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) stepped down under the threat of expulsion over separate sexual misconduct allegations.
Fellow Florida representative Cory Mills, a Republican, has also been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since November over a host of allegations ranging from domestic violence and sexual misconduct to stolen valor and profiteering from federal contracts as a member of Congress.
While the Committee has not yet released its findings, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution on Monday to expel him from the House. It is unclear whether there is enough Republican support for the measure.
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