WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) broke campaign finance laws and committed other violations by taking more than $5 million in federal relief and funneling much of the money toward her political aspirations.
An eight-member subcommittee voted early Friday that Cherfilus-McCormick was “guilty” of 25 counts related to the scheme following a rare public “trial” that stretched for more than six hours the night before.
“Shortly after the House returns from the April recess, the full Committee will hold a hearing 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 vote tally of the subcommittee — which consists of four Democrats and four Republicans — was not provided by the ethics panel, though members from both parties posed tough questions to the South Florida Democrat’s defense attorney during the hearing.
