Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick Faces Expulsion Over Ethics Violations

0:00It's April 21st. Welcome to Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. Democratic Representative Sheila Scherfylis McCormick from Florida is in hot water today as the House Ethics Committee decides her punishment for. 25 violations of House rules, including breaking campaign finance laws. Republicans are pushing hard for her expulsion, especially since she's up for re-election in her third term in a southeastern Florida district. On top of that, she's facing federal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in COVID relief funds to buy luxury items like a three-carat, yellow diamond ring. The trouble stems from her family's health care business getting overpaid about $5 million in disaster relief, which she then funneled through relatives and companies to bankroll her 2022 campaign. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies any ethics breaches, but she skipped testifying at a hearing by invoking her fifth Amendment rights. Her lawyer pushed back, saying they needed a full trial to fight the findings from the

1:04two-year probe that involved 59 subpoenas and over. 33,000 pages of documents. Folks in her district are speaking out, warning that kicking her out could leave hundreds of thousands without a voice in Congress right when Florida needs them most. House Democratic leaders aren't condemning her yet, waiting for the committee's call, Republicans like Florida's Greg Stovey vow to force in, expulsion vote no matter what. Meanwhile, this could spark payback with Democrats' eyeing expulsion for Republican Cory Mills over his own ethics probe into campaign finance, resource misuse, and misconduct allegations he denies at all. Just last week, two other lawmakers resigned amid similar sex misconduct investigations to dodge expulsion votes. House members have faced it historically, needing two-thirds approval across party lines. Speaker Mike Johnson says the facts are clear and predicts the House will boot her out, but voters usually get the final say.

2:04Keep watching how this unfolds in the ethics game.