2026年4月21日 / 美国东部时间下午2:46 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
华盛顿讯 —— 佛罗里达州联邦众议员、民主党人希拉·谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克于周二辞去国会职务，距众议院道德委员会就其盗窃及其他不当行为指控确定是否对其实施制裁仅剩数分钟。
谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克被控挪用近500万美元联邦紧急事务管理局资金用于其竞选活动，目前她已提出无罪抗辩。若不辞职，她很可能在未来几天内被逐出众议院。
“这并非公正的程序，”谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克在一份声明中表示，“与其参与这些政治把戏，我选择抽身离去，以便能投入时间为佛罗里达州第20选区的选民们争取权益。我在此宣布辞去第119届国会议员职务，即刻生效。”
她发表声明后不久，其辞职声明便在众议院议事厅宣读。
众议院道德委员会主席、密西西比州联邦众议员迈克尔·格斯特指出，该委员会“现已对本案丧失管辖权”，原定的制裁听证会将不再举行。
道德委员会于今年1月发布了一份报告，总结了其对谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克涉嫌不当行为进行的数月调查结果。委员会调查人员表示，他们发现“大量证据表明其行为与起诉书中的指控相符，且存在更为严重的不当行为”。
报告揭露了她在多届选举周期中提交不准确且不完整的竞选财务报告的模式，其中包括将不当捐款虚假申报为个人贷款、接受非法捐款以及虚报手头现金数额等问题。此外，据称谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克还将联邦紧急事务管理局的资金用于购买珠宝和名牌服装等奢侈品。
上个月，该委员会的裁决小组举行了一场罕见的公开“听证会”，认定委员会报告中针对谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克的27项指控中，除两项外其余全部“已被证实”。
在3月的听证会上，谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克的律师威廉·巴泽辩称，委员会的任何行动都将损害她获得公平审判的权利。
“如果陪审员们已经听说她被众议院认定有罪，她怎么可能进入法庭并获得公平审判？这绝无可能，”他说道。
巴泽周二对记者表示，她“别无选择”。
“她本可以放任他们肆意践踏她的宪法权利和正当程序权利，”他说，“与其任由这种情况发生，她决定抽身离去。”
谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克的联邦审判已于本月早些时候推迟至2027年2月。
议员们上月在一份声明中表示，由于联邦案件的影响，她“无法”就相关事宜发表过多言论。
“我期待在法律允许的情况下，有机会澄清事实并驳斥这些不实指控，”她说道。
在上周的另一份声明中，这位佛罗里达州民主党人曾表示她无意辞职。但在周二的听证会前夕，她的命运似乎已尘埃落定。
佛罗里达州共和党众议员格雷格·斯图布此前一直暂缓推动罢免谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克的投票，直至委员会给出建议。若要将她逐出众议院，需要三分之二的赞成票，这意味着若所有共和党议员都投支持票，至少需要70名民主党议员附和。
民主党领导层此前一直未就是否支持将她逐出众议院表态，称将在道德委员会给出建议后再进行讨论。
谢尔菲勒斯-麦科米克是过去一周内第三位因不当行为指控而辞职的国会议员。民主党众议员埃里克·斯沃韦尔和共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯均于4月14日在预计的驱逐投票前辞职。
帕特里克·马吉尔为本报道贡献了采访内容。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/rep-sheila-cherfilus-mccormick-resigns-before-facing-ethics-hearing/
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress, moments before Ethics hearing to determine sanctions
April 21, 2026 / 2:46 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from Congress on Tuesday, moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to determine whether she should be sanctioned for allegations of theft and other misconduct.
Cherfilus-McCormick has been charged with stealing nearly $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for her campaign and has pleaded not guilty. She was likely to be expelled from the House in the coming days if she had not resigned.
“This was not a fair process,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. “Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.”
Her resignation was read on the House floor shortly after she issued her statement.
The House Ethics Committee chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, noted that the panel “has now lost jurisdiction in this matter” and there would no longer be a sanctions hearing.
The Ethics Committee released a report on the conclusions of its months-long investigation into Cherfilus-McCormick’s alleged misconduct in January. Committee investigators said they found “substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct.”
The report laid out a pattern of inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports across several election cycles, including improper contributions falsely reported as personal loans, acceptance of improper contributions and inflated cash-on-hand numbers. Cherfilus-McCormick also allegedly spent the FEMA funds on luxury goods, including jewelry and designer clothing.
Last month, the panel’s adjudicatory subcommittee held a rare public “trial,” determining that all but two of the 27 allegations against Cherfilus-McCormick in the committee’s report “had been proven.”
During the March hearing, Cherfilus-McCormick’s lawyer, William Barzee, argued any action by the committee would jeopardize her right to a fair trial.
“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 Representatives? It’s an impossibility,” he said.
Barzee told reporters Tuesday that she was “left with no choice.”
“She could go along and allow them to just trample her constitutional rights and her due process rights,” he said. “Instead of allowing that to happen, she decided to step away.”
Cherfilus-McCormick’s federal trial was pushed back earlier this month to February 2027.
The lawmakers said in a statement last month that she was “limited” in what she could address because of the federal case.
“I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight and challenge these inaccuracies, when I am legally able to do so,” she said.
In another statement last week, the Florida Democrat said she had no intention of resigning. But her fate appeared all but certain heading into Tuesday’s hearing.
Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida has been holding off on forcing a vote to remove Cherfilus-McCormick from office until after the committee made its recommendation. Her removal would have required a two-thirds vote, meaning at least 70 Democrats would need to support it if all Republicans voted in favor.
Democratic leadership had delayed weighing in on whether they would support her expulsion, and said they would discuss it after the Ethics Committee made its recommendation.
Cherfilus-McCormick is the third member of Congress to step aside over allegations of misconduct in the past week. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales both resigned on April 14 ahead of expected expulsion votes.
Patrick Maguire contributed to this report.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/rep-sheila-cherfilus-mccormick-resigns-before-facing-ethics-hearing/
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