Category: Corruption scandal
Disgraced Democrat resigns over ‘witch hunt’ investigation to evade humiliating expulsion
A Democrat resigned from Congress Tuesday as her colleagues ramped up efforts to expel the lawmaker over her corruption scandal.
Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida avoided her imminent expulsion by simply resigning, claiming that the House Ethics Committee’s investigation was a “witch hunt” that violated her “due process rights.” The investigative subcommittee effectively found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of dozens of campaign finance violations after she was accused of laundering millions of dollars worth of COVID-era FEMA funds into her campaign account.
‘That is a dangerous path.’
“This was not a fair process,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement Tuesday. “The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense. By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself. I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt.”
“I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished. 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.”
RELATED: ‘Mutually assured destruction’: Another disgraced lawmaker to resign from Congress over sex scandal
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Cherfilus-McCormick argued that the committee was setting a “dangerous precedent,” claiming she was not treated fairly during the investigation.
“But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in the statement. “In this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete. We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous path, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party.”
Cherfilus-McCormick is the second Democrat and third lawmaker in recent weeks to resign from Congress. Former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California dropped out of his gubernatorial race and later resigned from Congress after multiple women, including former staffers, accused him of sexual misconduct.
Swalwell’s resignation was accompanied by a resignation from former Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who also got caught in a sex scandal with one of his former staffers who tragically took her own life by setting herself on fire. Gonzales later admitted to the affair and dropped out of his re-election race before eventually resigning from Congress altogether.
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