The House Ethics Committee used a rare public hearing to press Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida on alleged ethics violations, with panel members casting doubt on arguments presented by her attorney as the committee moved toward a decision in a case that could reverberate politically.
The Thursday session, described by the Associated Press, ran nearly seven hours and put into public view a yearslong investigation into how Cherfilus-McCormick funded her political rise. House Ethics Committee investigators said they developed “a mountain of evidence” supporting allegations that the third-term congresswoman broke House ethics rules, including alleged campaign finance violations and the alleged commingling of campaign, personal and business funds, as well as alleged steps taken to benefit allies.
At the outset of the hearing, Cherfilus-McCormick’s attorney, William R. Barzee, asked the subcommittee to postpone the proceedings so she could preserve her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in an upcoming federal trial. Barzee had told the committee that if she wanted to preserve that right, “she must remain silent before the committee.” During the hearing, Cherfilus-McCormick did not address the panel and instead took notes, with moments of whispering to her lawyer and asking him to make points, AP reported.
Barzee said the allegations were not valid. “She is not guilty of these allegations. She is absolutely innocent,” he said, adding that “But she is in between a rock and a hard place right now.” He also argued the committee should not have proceeded without allowing cross-examination and an opportunity to submit competing evidence, calling it a “travesty of justice,” AP reported. The panel declined to postpone the hearing.
The proceedings became tense at multiple points as Barzee engaged lawmakers on the panel, which included four Republicans and four Democrats. The questioning centered in part on a profit-sharing agreement between Cherfilus-McCormick and her family’s business, Trinity Health Care Services. Barzee argued the arrangement should absolve her, describing it as a family business decision-making process made “around the kitchen table,” while lawmakers questioned the evidence presented in support of that argument.
Investigators presented a report describing what they alleged were 27 counts of ethics violations. AP reported that committee investigators said Cherfilus-McCormick first won a special election in 2022 by presenting a campaign as self-financed, but that investigators found the campaign was substantially funded through a $5 million overpayment connected to COVID-19 vaccination services her family’s company had received from the state of Florida. Barzee argued that regardless of the overpayment, she was entitled to profits from the business, saying, “There was nothing nefarious or improper about that.”
House investigators also described a funding pattern that they said misled voters about the strength of her campaign. AP reported that investigators alleged money was channeled into her campaign through a number of business entities connected to the congresswoman and her siblings. Investigators also said bank records showed transfers into her campaign accounts shortly before filing deadlines followed by transfers out after deadlines.
During the hearing, Republican Rep. Brad Knott read text messages he said indicated Cherfilus-McCormick was aware of when funds moved into her account so she could show a higher balance. “You and I both know that sometimes evidence speaks for itself,” Knott said, pointing at Barzee. Barzee replied by arguing that the family business made decisions informally.
Beyond the 2022 campaign, investigators also alleged that Cherfilus-McCormick continued to commit ethics violations while in office. AP reported that the investigation included findings that she largely funded her reelection campaign through outside groups run by friends and family, including a company that was mostly funded by the Haitian government. Investigators also alleged she used her position to benefit allies through special favors during the appropriations process and disregarded restrictions on volunteer work by a senior campaign adviser.
After hearing the arguments, lawmakers on the panel expressed heavy skepticism. The AP report quoted Rep. Mike DeSaulnier, the top Democrat on the ethics committee, responding to Barzee’s contention that millions of dollars were aboveboard by saying, “It strains credulity.” By the end of the hearing, the panel met in closed session and planned to release its judgment later, which could carry significant political repercussions.
The stakes are heightened by threats of expulsion. Some Republican lawmakers have threatened to push for a vote to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from the House, a move that would require a two-thirds vote. Democratic leaders, including California Rep. Pete Aguilar, have declined to condemn her so far, with Aguilar saying he would not “prejudge” the allegations and telling reporters, “Let’s see what happens in the Ethics Committee.”
The hearing also underscored its unusual nature in the House’s recent history, AP reported, noting that more than 15 years have passed since a sitting member faced a public hearing. The last member of Congress expelled was Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in 2023, when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voted against expulsion at the time, expressing concern about setting a precedent based on untried allegations; AP said a scathing House Ethics Committee report preceded the Santos expulsion vote.