Democratic Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is facing multiple allegations of violating House rules, including purportedly using Congressional funds for a for-profit entity — prompting ethics concerns and sparking an investigation into her office’s finances.
The Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) has called for a full-scale probe into the congresswoman, alleging the $5 million she obtained from Congress’ 2023 budget ended up going to a for-profit entity rather than the Figgers Foundation, the Florida telemedicine non-profit the funds were earmarked for, according to Punchbowl News. The Democrat also faces other allegations regarding the misuse of campaign finances dating back to 2023.
The OCC filed a referral into the potential misuse of Congressional funds a year ago, and because it still was not resolved in that timeframe, the Ethics Committee had to release the OCC report, Punchbowl News reported.
The OCC’s report alleged Cherfilus-McCormick’s Congressional office could have “made payments to an entity in violation of House committee rules and standards of conduct.” Moreover, the lawmaker’s campaign may have “accepted and failed to report in-kind contributions that may have exceeded applicable limits,” the report states.
The report also claims Cherfilus-McCormick “may have dispensed special favors or privileges to friends in connection with her congressional office’s requests for community project funding,” and her campaign may have “misreported the source of a campaign contribution or accepted a campaign contribution made by one person in the name of another.”
The OCC has to vote on each allegation they gather in order for it to be reviewed by the House Ethics Committee. All five were cleared to move on to the investigative subcommittee, the next step of the probe.
“The Committee on Ethics has not yet concluded its review of the allegations, and no decision has been made at this time. As outlined in the Committee’s public statement, the referral for further review does not imply that any violation has occurred,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. “I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close.”
This is not the first time the Florida Congresswoman has been the subject of a special investigative subcommittee probe. In December 2023 a previous OCC referral alleged Cherfilus-McCormick violated campaign finance rules during her special election in 2022. These same allegations will appear with those overviewed by the investigation subcommittee.
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