Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Resigns After Ethics Probe Finds 25 Violations

Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress following an investigation that found she committed more than 20 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws. Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of illegally funneling US disaster aid to her election campaign and spending the money on luxury purchases, including a $109,000 (£81,660) 3-carat yellow diamond ring. The 46-year-old Democrat, who was elected to Congress in 2022, has maintained she is innocent and vowed to clear her name. "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away," she said in a social media post announcing her resignation and calling the congressional ethics investigation a "witch hunt". Cherfilus-McCormick had faced the prospect of a rare vote in Congress to expel her after the House of Representatives' Ethics Committee released its findings. In her statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the panel did not allow her lawyer to adequately prepare her defence and launched the investigation while she was fighting a criminal case, which ultimately "prevented me from defending myself". The former congresswoman resigned minutes before the House Ethics Committee was to convene and make a recommendation on the punishment for the 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards, the committee determined she committed. When the committee did convene, they read her resignation letter and adjourned. The committee no longer has jurisdiction, as Cherfilus-McCormick is no longer a lawmaker. She and another person named in the federal charging documents allegedly diverted funds from a Fema contract to friends and relatives, who donated the money back to her campaign as purported personal contributions, prosecutors said. "The Ethics Committee has gone through all of its processes, and they found some alarming facts," he said. "I think the facts are indisputable at this point." Before her resignation, House Democratic leaders had refrained from publicly criticising Cherfilus-McCormick, saying they would wait to see the ethics committee's recommendation. On Tuesday, the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, said: "She did the right thing on behalf of her constituents."