House Ethics panel finds 25 of 27 counts against Cherfilus-McCormick proven

The House Ethics Committee on Friday announced that its Adjudicatory Subcommittee found that the panel had proven 25 of 27 counts of ethics violations against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), centering on allegations that she used millions in improperly paid federal disaster funds to finance her campaign.

The decision was announced after a rare public hearing on Thursday to examine the committee’s motion for summary judgment that outlined the violations.

The full committee is set to hold a hearing when the House returns from a two-week recess in mid-April to “to determine what, if any, sanction would be appropriate for the Committee to recommend,” Ethics Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement.

The expectation among many members is that Cherfilus-McCormick, if she does not resign, will face a vote to expel her from the House. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said this week he is preparing to call up his resolution to expel Cherfilus-McCormick as soon as the Ethics panel completes that formal process. It takes a vote of two-thirds of the House, requiring substantial Democratic support, to expel a member from the chamber.

The core of the alleged violations is that $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds that were improperly paid to her family’s company — millions of which was then transferred to Cherfilus-McCormick and others and used to fund her congressional campaign.

The Ethics panel’s scrutiny comes alongside parallel federal charges. Cherfilus-McCormick in November was indicted alongside three others, including her brother, for stealing $5 million in the FEMA funds that were used not only for her campaign but to enrich herself.

Cherfilus-McCormick has denied wrongdoing, and her legal counsel, William Barzee, argued that the facts in the committee’s motion were in dispute — as well as that the federal charges hindered her ability to respond to the Ethics panel due to concerns about self-incrimination given the pending trial.

In the Thursday hearing, Barzee argued that there was evidence of a “profit-sharing agreement” for the family company that means she was “entitled to every single penny that she received” from her family’s company after the improper payment. Lawmakers were skeptical of that argument and of the supporting evidence of a profit-sharing agreement.

The committee’s motion for summary judgment compiled 27 counts of ethics violations of conduct that “Does Not Reflect Creditably on the House”; conduct that “Violates the Letter and Spirit of House Rules”; “Failure to Uphold the Laws and Regulations of the United States”; and “Lack of Candor and Diligence in Ethics Investigations.”

A presentation from the committee’s counsel in the hearing on Thursday detailed the complex flow of funds. The committee also said Cherfilus-McCormick failed to file accurate financial disclosure forms, accepted improper campaign contributions from others, and provided special favors in connection with community project funding requests.

But in a closed session, the panel did not approve two of the 27 counts.

One of those was relating to false statements, and said Cherfilus-McCormick “had knowledge that some or all information identified as inaccurately disclosed in numerous FEC reports filed on behalf of her campaign were false” and that she “caused her campaign to submit false records to the FEC.” Other counts in the motion covered improper reports to the Federal Election Commission.

It also did not approve a count that said she showed “Lack of Candor and Diligence in Ethics Investigations,” outlining how she missed deadlines and canceled scheduled interviews at the last minute, among other lack of cooperation, as the committee conducted its years-long investigation. Her counsel in Thursday’s hearing argued that her previous lawyers had advised her to not cooperate, due to potential federal charges.

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