Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick admits her father called one of her Democratic opponents on a telephone belonging to her medical services company. Yesterday, REDBROWARD revealed Emmanuel Morel told Sun-Sentinel editors and reports about a phone call he received from Cherfilus-McCormick’s father, Gabriel Smith. A third candidate, Elvin Dowling provided details of the exchange which occurred during a Sun-Sentinel interview of Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress CD 20.
According to Dowling, “Emanuel Morel informed us all that he received a call on Sunday evening from someone identifying themselves as the father of Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. He said that the person threatened him against running against his daughter (over the course of two separate phone calls that were apparently witnessed by members of Mr. Morel’s campaign staff). Mr. Morel stated that he felt his life was threatened and that he has contacted the FBI who is investigating the calls as we speak.” When asked by a reporter about the call, Cherfilus-McCormick denied any knowledge of any phone calls to Morel.
When Morel produced a telephone number, Cherfilus-McCormick said the number looked familiar. According to Dowling, “At first she stated she did not and then stated that she has a lot of numbers connected to her campaign that were similar in nomenclature and it could be one of hers but she was not sure.”
On Thursday, Emmanuel Morel appeared on the Race And The Races webcast hosted by Narnike Grant and Sandra Cherfrere. Just minutes into the show, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick joined the show. She said she was “at a wedding” but wanted to respond to Morel.
Cherfilus-Mccormick said, “No one at my campaign has contacted or spoke to [Morel].”
She said, “The number you put out is actually another employee’s number…she’s been getting threats and had to cancel her line.”
Cherfilus-McCormick said she discussed the matter with her parents. “No one threatened you. And because of that, we are pursuing legal, um, against you for slander and for going on every show and talking.”
Then, Cherfilus-McCormick attacked Elvin Dowling for tipping off REDBROWARD about the matter. “Elvin Dowling called some kind of Republican blogger who insert themselves into a Democratic primary is disgusting,” she said.
Under questioning, Cherfilus-McCormick told Narnike Grant that her parents did speak with Morel. She said Morel was discussed at a weekend meeting between her parents and Haitian ministers. According to Cherfilus-McCormick, someone at that meeting said, “someone should talk to Morel.”
When Cherfilus-McCormick insisted no one from her “campaign” called Morel, host Sandra Cherfrere asked if the phone belonged to a Trinity Health employee. Cherfilus-McCormick stated the phone was assigned to “nurses or staff” and the Caller ID would appear as “Trinity.”
She admitted the call came from that number.
The Sun-Sentinel interview occurred Wednesday afternoon. Elvin Dowling contacted REDBROWARD at 5:48PM on Wednesday. REDBROWARD called the Trinity cell phone at 7:10PM. A telephone company recording stated the number was no longer in service. The REDBROWARD story was published minutes later.
How could the Trinity employee receive “threats” if the number was already out of service before the world knew the number?
Why were Cherfilus-McCormick’s parents calling another candidate in the first place?
While they may not be campaign employees, Cherfilus-McCormick’s father and mother wore campaign shirts at a candidate debate on Friday evening at the University of Fort Lauderdale.
Watch for yourselves:
