The House Ethics Committee found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of violating campaign finance laws and ethics standards on Friday, one day after the Florida Democrat appeared before the panel in a rare public hearing. The committee said it will hold a full sanctions hearing shortly after the House returns from the April recess, and expulsion is on the table.

The finding caps a three-year investigation into allegations that the second-term congresswoman diverted millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief money into her political campaign, then filed false reports to cover her tracks. A bipartisan subcommittee found "clear and convincing" evidence she was guilty on 25 of the 27 counts brought against her, a near-total verdict that leaves her facing sanctions ranging from censure to removal from Congress.

She also faces a separate federal criminal case. The Justice Department indicted Cherfilus-McCormick in November on charges alleging she stole $5 million in FEMA overpayments tied to a federally funded Covid-19 vaccination staffing contract. She pleaded not guilty last month.

The money trail from FEMA to the campaign

The Ethics Committee's Statement of Alleged Violations detailed several instances between 2021 and 2022 in which Cherfilus-McCormick's campaign improperly reported more than a dozen payments as loans. The committee said the misreporting was done "to create the appearance of a financially strong campaign."

Federal prosecutors and ethics investigators say the money flowed through a familiar channel. According to the Office of Congressional Ethics, Cherfilus-McCormick's income in 2021 was more than $6 million higher than in 2020, driven by nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received for work for Trinity Healthcare Services, her family's health care company. National Review reported that committee lawyer Sydney Bellwoar identified "the most egregious example" as a $2 million payment Cherfilus-McCormick received directly from Trinity Health into her campaign in July 2021, allegedly to forge the appearance of a robust campaign infrastructure.

The overpaid federal funds, investigators say, were not returned. They were instead funneled through various accounts, including money used to support Cherfilus-McCormick's 2022 special election campaign. Newsmax noted that federal charges also allege some of the stolen money went to personal purchases, including a 3-carat yellow diamond ring.

The committee said Cherfilus-McCormick failed to comply with Federal Election Commission regulations and failed to uphold the Code of Ethics for Government Service, particularly in disclosing campaign contributions.

Her defense: mistakes, not crimes

Cherfilus-McCormick's attorney, William Barzee, argued during the public portion of the proceeding that the panel should pause its investigation while the federal case is pending. He warned the ethics finding could compromise what he called "her constitutional rights to a fair trial."

Barzee put it bluntly, as CNN reported:

"How can she possibly go into court and have a fair trial if her jurors have already heard that she was found guilty by the House of Representative? It's an impossibility."

He acknowledged campaign staff mishandled reporting of campaign funds but denied that Cherfilus-McCormick explicitly broke the law.

"Many mistakes were made with her campaign and the way they reported the funds. There's no question about that."

Rep. Brad Knott, a North Carolina Republican on the committee, was not persuaded. He pushed back directly on the constitutional argument:

"We're not in a court of law. We're not dealing in a criminal matter. We are a body that's unique unto itself. We're dealing with rules. We're not dealing with any type of criminal adjudication, I want to just push back on that a little bit that we are not violating her constitutional rights."

Knott went further, taking aim at the defense's claim that Cherfilus-McCormick was simply unaware of what her campaign was doing:

"When you add up all the things that she did not know, it absolutely flies in the face of common sense."

Bipartisan condemnation, and Democratic silence

The committee's finding drew sharp words from both sides of the aisle, though the loudest voices came from an unlikely corner. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from Washington state, called for Cherfilus-McCormick to step down or face removal.

As the Washington Examiner reported, Perez said:

"You can't crime your way into legitimate power. Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed."

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, the top Democrat on the ethics committee, acknowledged the gravity of the case on Thursday:

"The allegations before us are extremely serious. They not only concern an individual member's conduct, they also implicate the public's confidence in the house's integrity as an institution."

DeSaulnier added that at a time when public confidence in Congress is already low, the committee's role in enforcing ethics "could not be more important."

But the broader Democratic leadership offered something closer to silence. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, asked whether Democrats would accept Cherfilus-McCormick's removal if the committee recommended it, told reporters Wednesday: "We'll see what happens." He added that the congresswoman "has an opportunity to defend herself both from the allegations here under the dome as well as those in a courtroom."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries was even more terse. Asked whether the party would oppose expulsion, he said two words: "Next question."

Speaker Johnson weighs the 'political death penalty'

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the case "a very serious matter" and acknowledged that expulsion, what he described as "effectively the political death penalty", remains a possibility.

"There are occasions that that meet that standard, but it's a decision of the body to determine that. So, you look at all the factors, and you figure that out, we'll be doing that here."

Johnson went further in a separate comment, noting the severity of the alleged conduct:

"In this case, it seems that this member of Congress has egregiously violated the law and exploited taxpayers and all the rest, and that that would be, it would be a harsh penalty necessary for that. It's true. It'll be a decision of the body."

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who oversaw the federal indictment, called the alleged conduct "a particularly selfish, cynical crime" and said "no one is above the law."

What comes next

The full Ethics Committee will hold a hearing after the April recess to determine what sanctions, if any, to recommend to the full House. The New York Post reported that the options include censure or expulsion. The committee voted unanimously in July to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee for the 119th Congress to examine the allegations, a signal that the bipartisan appetite for accountability on this case has been consistent.

Cherfilus-McCormick, serving her second full term representing Florida's 20th District, said she intends to stay put:

"I look forward to proving my innocence. Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: showing up for the great people of Florida's 20th District who sent me to Washington to fight for them."

Meanwhile, the federal criminal case proceeds on a parallel track. She faces charges of stealing $5 million in FEMA overpayments, money that was supposed to fund pandemic response, and using some of it to bankroll her own election. She has pleaded not guilty.

The contrast is hard to miss. A congresswoman stands accused of taking federal disaster relief money meant for a national emergency and routing it into her own campaign war chest. The ethics committee found the evidence convincing on 25 of 27 counts. Her attorney says mistakes were made. Her party's leaders won't say much of anything.

When taxpayer dollars meant for pandemic relief end up buying diamond rings and campaign ads, "We'll see what happens" is not the answer voters deserve.