House Ethics Committee opens probe into GOP Rep. Cory Mills

WASHINGTON (CN) — The House Committee on Ethics said Wednesday it will convene a panel to investigate sexual misconduct claims and other accusations made against Florida Representative Cory Mills.

The probe represents compounding scrutiny on the Republican congressman, who is also staring down the barrel of a potential censure vote in the House amid accusations by one of his GOP colleagues that he misrepresented his military service and committed “crimes against women.”

Mills, who was elected in 2022 to represent the Sunshine State’s 7th Congressional District, made headlines in February after reports emerged that police were called to his Washington apartment and he was investigated in connection with a domestic dispute. The congressman was not charged — but a Florida court last month granted a protective order against his ex-girlfriend over fears of dating violence.

The Florida Republican has long denied claims of domestic violence or assault. But on Wednesday, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace said she would bring a censure resolution against Mills, citing not only accusations of violence but also that he used his position as a member of Congress to secure contracts for a company he founded.

Mace also accused Mills of misrepresenting the details of his military service in order to receive a Bronze Star for actions in combat, claiming that his brigade commander stated that he did not personally sign off on an Army form recommending the congressman for such an award.

And just hours before Mace was set to formally introduce her resolution Wednesday evening, the House Ethics Committee said it would open its own investigation.

As with most of its ethics probes into sitting members of Congress, the committee offered few details about the charges it would investigate — but they appeared largely to track with issues raised by Mace earlier in the day. The panel said it would look into claims that Mills violated campaign finance law, that he failed to disclose required information on financial disclosure documents and that he “engaged in misconduct with respect to allegations of sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.”

The ethics committee said that it would soon announce the members of Congress who will participate in the investigation, but that it would not make any further public comment on the matter.

“The committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred,” the panel added.

Democrats on Tuesday attempted to move a separate censure resolution against Mills in retaliation for a similar play by Republicans aimed at U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who reportedly exchanged text messages with the late financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.

The effort to censure Plaskett failed on the House floor, and a censure resolution against Mills was never brought up — Mace has suggested that there was a “backroom deal” between Democrats and Republicans to save both lawmakers from possible censure.

In a statement Wednesday, the Florida congressman accused Democrats of using him as a “political pawn” and said he and his staff were prepared Tuesday to face a censure resolution.

“And let me be perfectly clear, there was no backroom deal, no negotiation, and no quid pro quo of any kind that would’ve forced the Democrats to stand down on that vote against me,” Mills wrote. “Anyone pushing that narrative is just wrong.”

In a separate statement, the congressman’s chief of staff and general counsel Catherine Treadwell denied claims that he had misrepresented his military service, calling such accusations “at best uninformed and at worst … offensive slander.”

Mace is expected to bring her censure resolution to the House floor as privileged, meaning she will force the chamber to vote on the measure within two legislative days. That move sets up a vote on Mills’ fate as early as Friday.

If her gambit succeeds, Mills would be stripped of his committee assignments and be forced to stand in the well of the House as the chamber clerk reads the details of his censure aloud.

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