In a shocking video, a Democratic congresswoman accused of corruption denied any wrongdoing when she was called out to her face by a constituent during a town hall meeting, a part of the representative’s desperate attempt to clear her name in the wake of an ongoing investigation into her conduct by the House Ethics Committee.
For context, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has been accused of corruption by the U.S. House Ethics Committee, which released a report on May 29, 2025, that details how the committee now has reason to believe that the Democratic congreswoman had used an overpaid invoice from the federal government to fund her own campaign, which, if true, would both break federal law and violate the rules of the House of Representatives.
In addition, on May 12, 2025, just weeks before the House Ethics Committee released its report on Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, the representative was filmed denying any wrongdoing during a town hall meeting after a constituent asked her a question about the allegations against her. In response, the congresswoman said that she “wasn’t even involved” in the corruption she was accused of by the Ethics Committee.
In a clip from the town hall meeting, a constituent asked Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, “How do you navigate advocating for Medicaid, Social Security, and all the other important things to your constituents, while being under investigations and health ethics investigations, a lot of fraud cases,” In response, the representative said, “That’s a good question, because half of it isn’t true.”
Continuing, Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick attempted to clear her name by dismissing the constituent’s question, saying that “in addition to not being true,” the allegations against her were related to events that she “wasn’t even involved in.” The representative continued, “So the truth is, I fight every day for my constituents.”
Moving on and attempting to inspire the gathered constituents, the congresswoman said, “Nothing stops you from fighting for them, and that’s my priority.” She added, “Everybody shoots at the top. So you know when you’re on the top and you’re fighting and you’re winning, they shoot at you. But you know when you’re strong, you stay focused and you fight back.”
Concluding her response, Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick likened the allegations she was facing to arrows, saying, “So every arrow that comes towards me, I block it and I fight back.” She added, “So I thank you for your questions, and I thank you for your diligence, but just know I fight back, and when I fight back, I win. Win.”
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However, press accounts confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics announced on May 29, 2025, that they had found “probable cause” for Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick’s violation of ethics and campaign finance regulations, detailing how the representative allegedly accepted an overpayment of over $5 million from a Florida state government agency and used the money to fund her own campaign. In response, Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick reportedly said that “no decision has been made at this time” regarding the allegations against her.
Watch the clip from the town hall meeting:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video