House Ethics panel declines delay for Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s Ethics trial

A House Ethics subcommittee refused a request to put off a legislative trial for U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick.

An attorney for the Miramar Democrat had asked for delays both to protect her right to remain silent and let counsel have proper time to prepare. William Barzee, who is also representing Cherfilus-McCormick in criminal proceedings, noted he has only been on the House Ethics case for a matter of weeks.

“I need to set up interviews. We need to work on the case. We need to go through the documents and prepare responses,” Barzee said. “None of that has been done, not really. We did our best in 2 or 3 hours to put something together.”

At one point, he said the legal team still needed to understand the legitimate reasons money originally given to Trinity Health Care Services, a public health company founded by Cherfilus-McCormick, ended up in her possession. He challenged accusations in a House Ethics report saying it was illegally funneled to her campaign.

“One of the major allegations that staff has made is that Trinity Health Services funneled money illegally into the Congresswoman’s campaign, and that the Congresswoman was just taking money and using it for her campaign. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “One of the things that we filed so that the committee has in front of them is the fact that she was entitled to a certain percentage of profits of Trinity.”

But the Ethics trial has already been delayed because her prior attorney quit. Last week, members decided in executive session not to delay the matter again.

Cherfilus-McCormick did not speak to press as she entered or left proceedings, remaining stone-faced and silent except for a short private conversation with Barzee.

While members of the subcommittee listened to more than an hour of arguments about the need for a further continuance, they ultimately decided to move ahead with the hearing today.

Proceedings turned testy at points.

U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, House Ethics Committee Chair, questioned shifting reasons for a delay.

“The only request that you have made, or your client has made, to this committee is to continue the matter past the criminal action. I want the record to reflect that,” the Mississippi Republican said.

But Democrats on the panel, which has an equal number of members from both parties, also challenged the arguments brought by Cherfilus-McCormick’s team. U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Texas Democrat, noted no new evidence has come to light since the last time the committee was asked to delay action.

She also took offense at arguments by Barzee that the House Ethics Committee has often deferred to requests from the Justice Department to delay actions. Barzee said the committee frequently put investigations on hold to protect a criminal prosecution, but were not honoring a request for a stay to protect the constitutional rights of a sitting member of Congress.

“What makes you think that we automatically do whatever the Justice Department does?” she asked.

Britney Pescatore, Director of Investigations for the House Ethics Committee, noted the committee does not comply with all Justice Department to delay matters. When that does happen, it is often because a criminal investigation first prompted a House Ethics investigation of a crime, but the House launched its own investigation of Cherfilus-McCormick long before the Justice Department announced a criminal indictment of the lawmaker.

The exchange prompted an apology from Barzee for letting his “Irish passion” charge his language. But he maintained holding a public Ethics trial, a rare event in Congress, compromised Cherfilus-McCormick’s right to remain silent.

“She is not guilty of these allegations, she’s absolutely innocent. She’s looking forward to being in criminal court in order to prove her innocence, which I’m confident she’s going to be able to do,” Barzee said.

“But she’s in between a rock and a hard place right now when the committee says, well, give us all of your files and allow us to cross examine you about everything that happened. Well, if she complies with that, if she engages in that process of turning everything over and speaking to the committee, everything she turns over, everything she says to the committee, could potentially be used against her in a subsequent trial.”

He said that includes media coverage — a House committee meeting room was packed with press from more than a dozen local and national outlets — could taint a South Florida jury in federal court. He said that trial will likely unfold in late summer or fall.

Ethics staff stressed the need to take action well before any political election. Cherfilus-McCormick faces several Democratic Primary opponents, one of whom attended the Ethics trial, on Aug. 20.

“The danger here is in today’s society, without pointing fingers or blaming one side or the other, everything has become weaponized, including the press, and you are going to see press reports indicating that the Congresswoman has been found guilty of these various allegations that were made against her,” Barzee said.

“Now, how can she possibly go into court and have a fair trial if her jurors have already heard that she was found guilty by the House of Representatives? It’s an impossibility.”

U.S. Rep. Brad Knott, a North Carolina Republican, said that should not impact the committee, and that in any criminal trial, a judge will instruct jurors to make decisions based solely on evidence presented in court.