The House Ethics Committee held their scheduled adjudicatory hearing, more commonly referred to as a “trial”, against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL). Sadly, none of the main broadcast network newscasts saw fit to carry the story.
PBS NewsHour did run that report. Here it is, as aired on Thursday, March 26th, 2026:
Zero seconds on ABC, CBS, or NBC for the House Ethics Committee "trial" of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL). Only PBS picked up the story for NewsHour, and omitted the details of the charges against her. Coverage for Cherfilus-McCormick is significantly (D)ifferent than it… pic.twitter.com/JXtKs94ciw
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 27, 2026
JOHN YANG: Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who has been indicted for allegedly stealing millions in taxpayer money, faced a rare public Ethics Committee hearing in Congress today. The bipartisan panel, which hasn’t held a public hearing against a sitting member of the House in more than 15 years, began this investigation in 2023. Members questioned why they should delay their conclusion as she requests.
MARK DESAULNIER: And the American people are entitled to demand accountability of all of us when their- if their elected representatives are without integrity.
YANG: Cherfilus-McCormick's lawyer joined the case less than three weeks ago. The congresswoman has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded Not Guilty to the federal charges against her. The result of the ethics process could bring political consequences including possibly getting expelled from the House.
The networks continue their ongoing blackout of this story. Not a second of it aired on ABC, CBS or ABC’s evening newscasts. This major omission joins their omission of the IOC’s ban on “trans women” during the 2028 Games and onward thereafter.
The PBS item is not perfect, though. Viewers never once heard any detail of the egregious charges filed against Cherfilus-McCormick. Per the indictment:
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source. Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants.
The indictment further alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and Nadege Leblanc, 46, of Miramar, arranged additional contributions using straw donors, funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if using their own money.
The congresswoman is also alleged to have purchased a $100,000 diamond ring. Had a Republican been accused of doing any of this, it would dominate news coverage nonstop until the person is no longer in Congress. We know this because this is exactly what happened with George Santos. The media drove the story until Santos was expelled from Congress.
With Cherfilus-Mccormick, we get the contrary. Suppression in service of not letting the story get out into the public. If it weren’t for double standards, there would be none at all.
