Dec. 28 (UPI) — The House Ethics Committee announced it has opened an investigation into potential campaign finance violations and other offenses by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
The committee on Wednesday said the investigation will seek to determine whether Cherfilus-McCormick, R-Fla., violated campaign finance laws in her 2022 special election or 2022 re-election campaigns.
It will also look into whether she failed to properly disclose information on statements required to be filed in the House and if she accepted voluntary services for official work from someone not employed in her congressional office.
Rep. Andrew R. Garbarino, R- N.Y., will chair the investigative subcommittee.
The investigation follows a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics. The committee noted that establishing an investigative subcommittee doesn’t indicate a violation.
“As the Ethics Committee said in its statement, the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation occurred,” said a spokesperson for Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick. “Regardless, the Congresswoman takes these matters seriously and is working to resolve them.”
She was first elected to Congress in 2022 after the death of Rep. Alcee Hastings.
Should the investigation uncover ethics violations, the Ethics Committee can take disciplinary action.
The Office of Congressional Ethics, which referred the ethics complaint to the committee, doesn’t have power to discipline House members.
