A bipartisan House Ethics panel determined Friday that Democratic Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is guilty of violating over two dozen House rules. The charges stem from allegations that she embezzled millions of dollars in COVID-19 emergency funds and funneled them into her congressional campaign.
The Hill reported that the committee found her guilty on all but two of the 27 counts brought against her. The verdict followed a rare public hearing that stretched seven hours on Thursday, during which Cherfilus-McCormick did not speak publicly.
Five million dollars. That's how much the congresswoman allegedly channeled from emergency COVID-19 funds into her 2021 special election campaign through her family's businesses. The seat she was running for had belonged to the late former Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings.
The Ethics panel's findings paint a picture that goes well beyond a single act of financial misconduct. The committee also found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of accepting and failing to properly document illegal in-kind campaign contributions from an organization with ties to her former campaign manager, who oversaw her 2021 and 2022 campaigns.
The panel said it will hold another hearing following Easter recess to determine if it recommends any sanction against her. That timeline matters, because Cherfilus-McCormick's legal troubles extend far beyond the House chamber.
She was indicted by the Department of Justice in November and faces up to 53 years in prison if found guilty on her 15 federal charges. Her trial will likely begin next month and stretch into the summer.
Money laundering. False statements. Illegal campaign contributions. Hidden financial disclosures. Fifteen federal charges. A potential half-century behind bars. And this is a sitting member of Congress.
Republican Florida Rep. Greg Stuebe wasted no time calling to expel the congresswoman. In a social media post Thursday night, Stuebe laid out the case plainly:
"Money laundering. False statements. Illegal campaign contributions. Hiding financial disclosures. And Democrats still defend this?"
He followed that with an even more direct statement:
"This is disgraceful. The American people deserve better than corruption in Congress. I'm ready to expel Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick!"
Stuebe's frustration is well-placed. The question now is whether the rest of Congress shares it, or whether partisanship will shield Cherfilus-McCormick from the consequences that any ordinary American would face for this kind of conduct.
There's a deeper story here that deserves attention. The COVID-19 emergency funding apparatus was sold to the American public as an urgent lifeline during a crisis.
Trillions of dollars flowed out of Washington with minimal oversight, and conservatives warned at the time that the lack of accountability would invite exactly this kind of abuse.
Those warnings were dismissed as obstructionism. The money had to move fast, we were told. Oversight could come later. Well, later arrived, and it brought indictments.
Cherfilus-McCormick allegedly treated pandemic relief funds as seed money for her political career. She reportedly used her family's businesses as pass-throughs, converting emergency dollars meant for Americans in crisis into campaign fuel. If the allegations hold, she didn't just violate House rules. She exploited a national emergency for personal political gain.
This case is a case study in what happens when the federal government opens the spending floodgates and trusts politicians to act in good faith. Some did. Some, apparently, did not.
It's worth noting what didn't happen during Thursday's seven-hour hearing. Cherfilus-McCormick did not speak publicly. No defense. No explanation. No contrition. Seven hours of proceedings about her own alleged corruption, and the congresswoman sat silent.
That silence will echo. The panel's post-recess hearing on sanctions will determine how the House responds institutionally. But the DOJ's case, with its 15 federal charges and the specter of 53 years in prison, will determine whether real accountability follows.
Conservatives have long argued that the rules apply to everyone, regardless of party. That principle doesn't bend because a member wears the right jersey or represents the right district. If Cherfilus-McCormick is guilty of what a bipartisan committee says she's guilty of, the House should act accordingly. Not after the trial. Not after the next election cycle. Now.
Stuebe is right about one thing above all else: the American people deserve better than corruption in Congress. Whether they get it depends on whether the institution has the spine to enforce its own rules against one of its own.
Twenty-five violations. Five million dollars. Fifteen federal charges. And a congresswoman who wouldn't say a word in her own defense.
The facts speak loudly enough.
