Following Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation from the House of Representatives, two months after CREW called for it, CREW President and former counsel for the House Ethics Committee Donald K. Sherman released the following statement:

“This is beyond overdue. Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick did the right thing by stepping down, but she should not have waited until the moment before potential expulsion to do so. The wrongdoing alleged in the federal indictment and corroborated in the Committee’s investigation demonstrated that she should not have authority over the appropriation of taxpayer funds. Rather than resigning sooner, she spent months dragging the scandal on while cashing paychecks from American taxpayers. You don’t get credit for doing the right thing only when forced to, after repeatedly doing the wrong thing.”