House Ethics Committee To Investigate Democratic Lawmaker For Alleged Campaign Finance Violations
The House Ethics Committee has unanimously agreed to investigate allegations of campaign finance violations by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL).
Cherfilus-McCormick was recently elected in the 2022 cycle, according to MSNBC’s Ryan Nobles.
“They do list a number of specific things that they’re going to look into, including improper use of campaign finance funds. Also, the possibility that there was someone volunteering for her campaign that didn’t specifically work for the campaign or work for the official office,” Nobles reported. “And while we don’t know specifically what they are investigating, we do know that there have been questions raised about how Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick used…taxpayer funds to actually pay for ads that ran in her congressional district leading up to her election.”
Nobles said it’s not illegal for a member of Congress to use taxpayer money to create informational TV spots, but it is illegal to use the dollars to create actual campaign ads.
“So this is an investigation in its early stages, but it is notable that Democrats and Republicans have moved to this stage of forming this investigatory committee,” Nobles said.
He added that the investigation “could take a long time.”
“The House Ethics Committee is notoriously private, and they notoriously are meticulous in their investigations. There’s a very real possibility that they could launch this probe, and we may never hear the end of it. They may decide that there’s nothing there and move on, and not even tell us about it.
“There have been ongoing investigations, for instance, into Congressman Matt Gaetz (R), also of Florida, that’s been ongoing for some time with no real end in sight. So the Ethics Committee, very private about how they conduct their business. There’s no telling how long this particular probe could take,” Nobles concluded.
Watch the clip above via MSNBC.