2026年3月26日 / 美国东部时间上午6:00 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
华盛顿— 众议院道德委员会周四将为佛罗里达州民主党众议员谢拉·切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克举行一场罕见的公开”审判”，她被指控挪用500万美元联邦疫情资金，并将部分资金用于支持她的国会竞选活动。
共和党人已试图以这些指控为由将切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克驱逐出国会。根据听证会的结果，道德委员会可能会建议将其驱逐，这可能促使民主党人支持罢免她。
今年1月，两党组成的委员会公布了对这起所谓竞选资金阴谋的长期调查结果。该报告揭示了这位佛罗里达州民主党人的努力，她在2018年和2020年两次竞选失败后，试图加强她的国会竞选活动。
切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克于2022年在佛罗里达州南部第20国会选区的补选中当选为国会议员，接替前一年去世的民主党众议员奥尔西·哈斯汀斯。她于11月被联邦指控起诉，并已对这些指控不认罪。
定于周四下午2点开始的听证会将由一个裁决小组委员会主持，该小组委员会由四名共和党人和四名民主党人组成，他们将确定这些指控”是否有明确和令人信服的证据证明”，并”作出事实认定”。小组委员会成员未参与对切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的调查。
根据众议院规则，除非小组委员会投票决定闭门举行听证会，否则听证会将公开举行。听证会可包括开场陈述、宣誓证人证词和其他证据的陈述。
周三，委员会表示，将在周四的听证会上重新考虑切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克提出的闭门举行听证会的请求。
切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克在接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻采访时表示，她”深感失望”委员会推进了这次听证会。她表示自己是无辜的，并且由于联邦案件，她能陈述的内容”有限”。
“我欢迎有机会澄清事实，并在我依法能够做到时挑战这些不实指控，”她说。
联邦起诉书指控内容
对切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的联邦指控与向一家由国会女议员家人拥有的公司Trinity Healthcare Services巨额超额付款有关。该公司有一份由联邦紧急事务管理局资助的合同，负责为人们登记新冠疫苗接种。
起诉书称，2021年7月，佛罗里达州一家州机构错误地将500万美元超额付款存入该公司的银行账户。但美国司法部表示，切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克和她的兄弟没有退回超额付款，而是将资金转移到了几个其他银行账户，以”掩盖资金来源”。
起诉书称，在随后的几个月里，超过110万美元被转移到与其国会竞选活动相关的账户。切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克和一名竞选工作人员据称将部分资金转移给了朋友和亲戚，这些人又将资金以个人捐款的名义转回她的竞选活动。这种被称为”稻草捐款”的行为是非法的。
检察官指控这位女议员为自己购买了一枚3.14克拉的黄色钻石戒指。她还被指控虚报商业支出和慈善捐款以减少纳税责任。
切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克面临15项指控，包括盗窃政府资金、洗钱、进行和接受稻草捐款，以及协助准备纳税申报单上的虚假陈述。
如果所有指控都成立，她最高可能面临53年监禁。
“这是一项不公正、毫无根据的虚假指控——我是无辜的，”切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克在11月20日的一份声明中说。
众议院道德委员会报告内容
1月份发布的一份59页报告中，众议院道德委员会得出结论认为，有”充分理由相信”切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克违反了多项联邦法律和众议院规则。委员会表示，在对这位女议员所谓不当行为的长期调查中，他们审查了33,000多份文件，采访了28名证人，并发出了59份传票。
报告称，调查发现”有大量证据表明存在与起诉书中指控一致的行为，以及更广泛的不当行为”。
报告称，切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的公司在2021年获得了近580万美元的超额付款，其中最大的一笔是起诉书中提到的2021年7月的500万美元超额付款。
调查人员指出，在几个选举周期中，竞选财务报告存在不准确和不完整的模式，包括错误地将不当捐款申报为个人贷款、接受不当捐款和虚报手头现金数额。
报告称，几乎每一笔大额竞选交易的时间都与切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的医疗保健公司的资金转移密切相关。调查人员表示，至少有360万美元与联邦紧急事务管理局相关的资金在”至少一段时间内”流入了切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的竞选活动。他们还表示，他们为Trinity和切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克”提供了无数机会来解释这些资金是否是受访者合法拥有的，但双方都没有提供任何此类解释”。
报告还称，除了支持她的国会竞选活动外，切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克还据称用超额付款购买了奢侈品个人物品，包括蒂芙尼公司的珠宝、一辆特斯拉汽车、名牌服装、高档酒店和一次游轮旅行。
报告还指控，切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的竞选活动在她2022年首次当选国会议员后，接受了一家海地石油公司80多万美元的捐款。据报告称，这些捐款通过女议员最亲密的顾问和丈夫设立的空壳公司转移给竞选活动，这些资金”构成了非法的公司捐款”。
调查人员还详细说明了切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克对一位朋友和竞选筹款人的特殊关照，这位朋友曾为社区项目申请联邦资金。
这位佛罗里达州民主党人最初配合了道德委员会的调查，但在委员会发出传票要求提供她未提供的文件和证词后，她援引了第五修正案反对自证其罪的权利。
针对委员会的调查结果，切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克的律师表示，这位女议员”对这些指控和报告提出异议和反驳”。
委员会拒绝了切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克推迟所有程序直至其刑事案件解决的请求。
驱逐切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克出国会的努力
佛罗里达州共和党众议员格雷格·斯图布正领导一项以这些指控为由将切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克驱逐出国会的努力。
在切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克11月被起诉后，斯图布最初表示，他将寻求通过谴责决议来谴责她，这种谴责在很大程度上是象征性的，因为它缺乏任何实质性后果。斯图布很快改变了立场，说他将寻求驱逐，理由是她应该”在她可能对国会、她的选区和佛罗里达州造成更多伤害之前迅速被从众议院中移除”。
斯图布威胁说，如果切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克拒绝辞职，他将迫使就驱逐她进行投票，但随着道德委员会的程序展开，他已经暂缓了这一行动。
驱逐一名众议院成员需要三分之二的多数票。
纽约州民主党人、众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯在11月的一份声明中表示，切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克”有权在法庭上获得她的一天和无罪推定”。
加州众议员、众议院民主党核心小组负责人皮特·阿吉拉尔周三表示，他正在等待道德委员会听证会和刑事审判的结果，才能对切尔菲卢斯-麦科马克在众议院的未来得出任何结论。
“在这些听证会和审判结束后，我们将看看会发生什么，我们将与我们的同事讨论这将是什么样子，”他说。”但我不会提前预判断这将是什么样子。”
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 22, 2026. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat accused of stealing FEMA funds, set to face rare ethics “trial”
March 26, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News
Washington— The House Ethics Committee on Thursday will hold a rare public “trial” for Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, who is accused of stealing $5 million in federal pandemic funds and using some of the money to boost her congressional campaign.
Republicans are already trying to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress over the allegations. Based on the outcome of the hearing, the Ethics Committee could recommend expulsion, which could prompt Democrats to support removing her.
In January, the bipartisan committee released the findings of its lengthy investigation into the alleged campaign finance scheme. The report shed new light on the Florida Democrat’s efforts to bolster her congressional campaign after two unsuccessful bids in 2018 and 2020.
Cherfilus-McCormick was elected to Congress in 2022 in a special election in South Florida’s 20th Congressional District, replacing Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died the previous year. She was indicted in November on federal charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Thursday’s hearing, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., will be conducted by an adjudicatory subcommittee, composed of four Republicans and four Democrats, who will determine whether the allegations “have been proved by clear and convincing evidence” and “make findings of fact.” The members of the subcommittee were not part of the investigation into Cherfilus-McCormick.
According to House rules, adjudicatory subcommittee hearings are held in public, unless the panel votes otherwise. They can include opening statements, sworn witness testimony and the presentation of other evidence.
On Wednesday, the committee said it would begin Thursday’s hearing by reconsidering Cherfilus-McCormick’s request to hold the hearing behind closed doors.
In a statement to CBS News, Cherfilus-McCormick said she was “deeply disappointed” the committee moved forward with the hearing. Cherfilus-McCormick said she was innocent and 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.
What the federal indictment says
The federal charges against Cherfilus-McCormick are related to a massive overpayment to a company, Trinity Healthcare Services, owned by the congresswoman’s family. The company had a FEMA-funded contract to register people for COVID vaccines.
In July 2021, a Florida state agency mistakenly deposited the $5 million overpayment in the company’s bank account, according to the indictment. But instead of returning the overpayment, Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother moved the funds to several other bank accounts “to disguise its source,” the Justice Department said.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 22, 2026. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
In the subsequent months, more than $1.1 million was transferred to accounts connected to her congressional campaign, the indictment said. Cherfilus-McCormick and a campaign staffer allegedly funneled some of the funds to friends and relatives, who donated it back to her campaign disguised as their own personal contributions. Such contributions, known as straw donations, are illegal.
Prosecutors alleged the congresswoman bought herself a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring. She is also accused of falsely inflating business expenses and charitable contributions to reduce her tax liability.
Cherfilus-McCormick is charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw donor contributions, and aiding and assisting the preparation of a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return.
She faces a maximum of 53 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.
“This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a Nov. 20 statement.
What the House Ethics Committee report says
In a 59-page report released in January, the House Ethics Committee concluded there was “substantial reason to believe” Cherfilus-McCormick violated multiple federal laws and House rules. The committee said it reviewed over 33,000 documents, interviewed 28 witnesses and issued 59 subpoenas as part of its lengthy investigation into the congresswoman’s alleged misconduct.
The investigation found “substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct,” according to the report.
The report says Cherfilus-McCormick’s company received nearly $5.8 million in overpaid funds throughout 2021. The largest was the $5 million overpayment in July 2021 referenced in the indictment.
Investigators 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.
The report alleged the timing of “nearly every substantial transaction” to the campaign closely aligned with transfers from Cherfilus-McCormick’s health care company. Investigators said that at least $3.6 million of the FEMA-linked funds made its way to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign “for at least some period of time.” They also said they provided Trinity and Cherfilus-McCormick “with numerous chances to explain whether those were funds respondent had a legal right to, but neither party provided any such explanation.”
In addition to bolstering her congressional campaign, Cherfilus-McCormick also allegedly spent the overpaid funds on luxury personal items, including jewelry from Tiffany & Co., a Tesla, designer clothing, high-end hotels and a cruise, according to the report.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign is also accused of accepting more than $800,000 from a Haitian oil company in 2022, after she was first elected to Congress. The contributions were funneled to the campaign through shell companies set up by the congresswoman’s closest advisers and husband, according to the report, which said the funds “constitute an impermissible corporate contribution.”
Investigators also detailed Cherfilus-McCormick’s alleged special favors for a friend and campaign fundraiser who had made federal funding requests for community projects.
The Florida Democrat initially cooperated with the Ethics Committee’s investigation, but eventually invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after the committee issued a subpoena for documents she had not provided and for her testimony.
In response to the committee’s findings, a lawyer for Cherfilus-McCormick said the congresswoman “disputes and refutes the allegations and report.”
The committee denied Cherfilus-McCormick’s request to postpone all proceedings until her criminal case is resolved.
Effort to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress
Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida is leading an effort to expel Cherfilus-McCormick from Congress over the allegations.
After Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted in November, Steube initially said he would seek to reprimand her through a censure resolution, which is largely symbolic because it lacks any tangible consequences. Steube quickly changed course and said he would pursue expulsion, arguing she should be “swiftly removed from the House before she can inflict any more harm on Congress, her district, and the State of Florida.”
Steube threatened to force a vote on her expulsion if Cherfilus-McCormick refused to resign, but he has held off as the Ethics Committee process plays out.
Expelling a member of the House requires a two-thirds vote.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a November statement that Cherfilus-McCormick is “entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence.”
Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who leads the House Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday that he’s waiting for the outcome of the Ethics Committee’s hearing and the criminal trial to come to any conclusions about Cherfilus-McCormick’s future in the House.
“After the conclusion of those, we will see what happens and we’ll have conversations with our colleagues on what it looks like,” he said. “But I’m not going to prejudge what it looks like ahead of time.”