The House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously held North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph and Hector Roos in contempt of Congress, escalating a fight over their refusal to cooperate with the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. The vote now sends the matter to the Department of Justice, which will decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
For Hector Roos, the move is the sharpest step yet in a case that could carry a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in jail if it ends in a conviction. Roos, a former aide to Cherfilus-McCormick, and Joseph, a former witness in the inquiry, were both found by voice vote on Tuesday afternoon to have ignored multiple subpoenas issued by the committee.
Committee Chairman Michael Guest said Roos and Joseph willfully failed to comply with the committee’s subpoenas and that their conduct impeded the investigative subcommittee’s work. He said the allegations under review were serious and involved possible violations of federal law, and he added that Roos filed inaccurate reports with the Federal Election Commission while working for Cherfilus-McCormick.
The House backed the contempt resolution without a roll call, so no lawmaker had to go on the record individually. That unanimity makes the punishment look firm, but it also hides the political cost of the decision and leaves the next move in the hands of prosecutors.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier said a witness who refuses to cooperate with the Ethics Committee slows and weakens an investigation, especially when public confidence in Congress is already low. The larger question now is whether the Department of Justice will take the referral and turn a congressional rebuke into criminal charges, or let the contempt finding stand as the final word.
