The House Ethics Committee found Rep. Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of ethics violations after a rare public hearing on allegations of financial crimes.
ADRIAN MA, HOST:
The House Ethics Committee has found Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of ethics violations, including financial misconduct. A bipartisan team had been investigating the Florida Democrat for two years. They brought 27 counts against her. This week, the committee said it found clear and convincing evidence that she was guilty of all but two counts. This comes almost a month after the congresswoman pleaded not guilty on federal charges that she stole millions of federal relief funds, then used the money to fund her campaign. NPR’s Barbara Sprunt takes the story from here.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: When members of Congress investigate alleged wrongdoing by one of their own, it’s almost always behind closed doors. But this week, the Ethics Committee held essentially a public trial – something the congresswoman’s lawyer fought up until the last moment.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WILLIAM BARZEE: I would suggest that the committee could take a pause.
SPRUNT: That’s her new lawyer, William Barzee. He asked the committee to delay until her criminal trial ends, which could be months from now. The Justice Department indicted the Congresswoman last fall, alleging she funneled money to support her 2021 campaign from an overpayment from FEMA that was distributed to her family’s company. The congresswoman didn’t speak during the proceedings but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Barzee said a public hearing could jeopardize the future jury pool in the criminal case.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BARZEE: If they hear that she’s already been found guilty, how can she have a fair trial?
SPRUNT: But the committee, which is made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, denied the request. Committee counsel presented evidence of more than two dozen violations, including improper receipt of funds and commingling of personal and campaign funds. They showed flow charts illustrating how millions of dollars were allegedly funneled from the congresswoman’s family’s company to her campaign, along with money allegedly funneled from the Haitian government to her campaign vendors. Barzee argued the congresswoman was entitled to the money transferred from her family’s company and showed a profit-sharing agreement to substantiate the claim.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BARZEE: She was entitled to every single penny that she received.
SPRUNT: But Congressman Nathaniel Moran, a Texas Republican, pointed out the document Barzee showed the panel was unsigned.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NATHANIEL MORAN: If, in fact, your client was entitled to that under a profit-sharing agreement, I would think Day 1, I would say, hey, give me the signed profit-sharing agreement, let me turn it over. And your client, in two years, has not done that.
SPRUNT: Brittney Pescatore, director of investigations for the subcommittee, said the congresswoman chose not to engage with the probe.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRITTNEY PESCATORE: She has also been provided with every opportunity throughout the two-year investigation because the investigation is not a prosecution. It’s an effort by her colleagues to understand what happened.
SPRUNT: Barzee, the congresswoman’s lawyer, repeatedly said he disputed the investigation’s findings, leading to this exchange with Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat from Virginia.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BARZEE: And we would ask for an opportunity to have them heard in public through cross-examination and the calling of witnesses.
SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM: You are aware of that you could’ve called witnesses today, right?
BARZEE: I – yes.
SPRUNT: In April, the committee will recommend a punishment to be voted on by the full House – something that could range from a censure, to removal from committees, to expulsion itself. There’s already calls from Republicans and at least one Democrat for her to be expelled. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote.
Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, the Capitol.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
