The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it is launching an investigation into Florida Democratic Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick for alleged federal campaign finance violations.
The House panel unanimously approved the creation of an investigative subcommittee led by Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and said in a statement that the Office of Congressional Ethics had initially brought the matter forward.
The investigation will explore whether Cherfilus-McCormick, 44, violated campaign finance laws in either the 2022 special election or her regular election campaign, missed filing deadlines or “accepted voluntary services for official work from individuals not employed in her congressional office .”
The investigation was made less than a month after the liar Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was ousted for multiple alleged campaign finance violations, including falsifying loans for his own campaign and defrauding donors.
The House Ethics Committee announced that it is launching an investigation into Democratic Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick for alleged federal campaign finance violations. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The investigation comes less than a month after Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was fired from Congress. AP
“No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with the Committee’s rules,” the Ethics panel said in a statement.
Brooklyn-born Cherfilus-McCormick, a former health care executive, won a special election in January 2022 to replace the late Democratic Representative Alcee Hastings, who had served in Florida’s 20th Congressional District since 1993.
During the campaign, Cherfilus-McCormick raised suspicions by personally loaning her campaign more than $6 million and then paying herself back to the tune of about $2.5 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Most of that repayment came after defeating his opponent in a special Democratic primary by just five votes, Florida Politics reported.
The House panel unanimously approved the creation of an investigative subcommittee led by Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.). Getty Images
Cherfilus-McCormick went on to win the general election in November, defeating Republican candidate Drew Montez-Clark in a landslide in a majority black district.
According to her House 2022 financial disclosure, Cherfilus-McCormick only has assets up to $545,000, while maintaining a student loan balance of between $150,000 and $350,000.
The left-leaning lawmaker had twice challenged Hastings for the seat before his death in April 2021, attacking him during the 2020 election cycle for being the subject of a House ethics investigation for having sex with a member of his staff.
“It’s almost impossible to effectively legislate on behalf of your constituents when you’re busy being a defendant in a congressional investigation,” Cherfilus-McCormick told the Palm Beach Post when asked about the investigation in August 2020.
Jonathan Levin, a spokesman for Cherfilus-McCormick, insisted in a statement to The Post that “Members of Congress are taking this matter seriously and are working to resolve it” with the panel. Getty Images
“Furthermore, an important component of effective representation is trust. Various scandals surrounding Rep. Hastings has proven that he cannot be trusted and it is time to elect representatives who will not abuse the power of their office.”
The investigation ended after Hastings married a staffer, Patricia Williams — a lawyer who represented the congressman in the 1980s when he was accused of accepting bribes while a federal judge in South Florida.
Williams was fired in 1992 after a disciplinary panel found he had misappropriated client money.
Hastings was acquitted in a conspiracy court to ask for $150,000 in exchange for a light sentence on a pair of brothers on racketeering-related charges. However, he was indicted by the Dewan Rakyat in May 1989 on charges of perjury and conspiracy and convicted by the Dewan Negara in October.
“It’s nearly impossible to effectively legislate on behalf of your constituents when you’re busy being a defendant in a congressional investigation,” Cherfilus-McCormick said. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
He was elected to the House in 1992.
Jonathan Levin, a spokesman for Cherfilus-McCormick, insisted in a statement to The Post that “Members of Congress are taking this matter seriously and are working to resolve it.”
“As the Ethics Committee stated in its statement,” he added, “the fact of the establishment of an investigative subcommittee does not in itself indicate that any violation occurred.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
