James Fishback has retracted his claim that Florida Representatives Byron Donalds and Cory Mills were under federal investigation. He said he made a "terrible mistake" and apologized to the congressmen and their families. Fishback made the original allegation in early August, during a Republican primary contest in which he and Donalds were rivals for the Florida governor nomination.
He said he had received the information from someone he trusted. In his new post on X, Fishback said he was retracting the claim after speaking with his priest and going to confession. Newsweek has reached out to James Fishback, Representatives Byron Donalds and Cory Mills, and the Justice Department for comment out of hours via email and is awaiting responses.
"I am writing this without consulting my lawyer because it is the right thing to do, regardless of the legal implications. In early August, I made a terrible mistake by claiming that Byron Donalds and Cory Mills were under federal investigation. I received this information from someone I trusted, but I accept the DOJ’s public statement that neither man is under investigation, which means that I bore false witness," Fishback wrote.
"As a Catholic, I take the Ten Commandments seriously. After speaking with my priest and going to confession, I have a moral obligation to publicly retract my statement and apologize. "I apologize to Byron, Cory, and their families for what I said," Fishback added.
"To be clear, neither man nor their lawyers asked me to write this, and neither has ever contacted me about it. "I sinned against my fellow man, and I am sorry. I ask God for forgiveness and pray that I can make amends." Fishback wrote that the alleged investigation related to claims involving travel by Donalds and Mills to the MGM National Harbor resort in Maryland in 2024.
He alleged prosecutors were examining two dates, May 17 and November 19. "My legal team has spent weeks attempting to independently verify this investigation, and we have done just that," Fishback wrote. He also claimed his campaign had received documents and other materials from a whistleblower, including what he described as text messages involving Mills.
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