Ethics Committee Dedicating ‘Significant Resources’ to Investigation of GOP Congressman Accused of Domestic Abuse

A special investigative panel of the House Ethics Committee has been set up to probe the actions of a Republican lawmaker, Congressman Cory Mills, who is accused of domestic abuse and accepting government contracts, which members of Congress are barred from doing. Mr. Mills has been under threat of facing a censure or expulsion resolution for the better part of the last year. Mr. Mills was elected to represent central Florida in the House in 2022. In 2024, the Office of Congressional Ethics released a report showing that Mr. Mills had been receiving federal government contracts for his private business, Pacem, which “conducts risk management assessments” and performs “intelligence collection.” The ethics office found that Mr. Mills may have violated federal law by not disclosing all information to it and by entering into contracts with the federal government. Shortly after that report was made, the ethics panel announced that it would investigate Mr. Mills to determine whether or not he broke House rules. If the committee finds that that is the case, then he could face a vote on the House floor for a reprimand or expulsion. On Monday, the Republican chairman and the Democratic ranking member of the ethics committee, Congressmen Michael Guest and Mark DeSaulnier, said they were continuing to devote “significant resources” to the investigation. The probe is being handled by what is known as an “investigative subcommittee,” or ISC. “These allegations are serious and complex and the ISC is devoting significant resources to the investigation. The ISC has authorized more than 20 subpoenas, collected thousands of documents, and contacted dozens of witnesses,” Messrs. Guest and DeSaulnier said in a statement. “The ISC expects to receive additional relevant documents and testimony in the coming weeks and will take all necessary steps to conduct a full and thorough investigation,” they added. Mr. Mills has denied any wrongdoing with respect to his federal contracting work, though that is not the only matter that the ethics panel is probing. The committee is also investigating whether or not Mr. Mills committed any violent acts against a woman in Washington, D.C. Last February, Metropolitan Police were called to Mr. Mills’s apartment by a woman who claimed to have been assaulted by the congressman. “Although the MPD determined not to charge Representative Mills for assault following this incident, a decision not to bring charges is not a finding of innocence or ‘no wrongdoing,’” Messrs. Guest and DeSaulnier said in their statement. The woman who made the call, Sarah Raviani, later recanted, saying that the bruises police saw on her body were not caused by Mr. Mills and that she had decided not to press charges. Despite no full report being issued on his conduct, at least one of Mr. Mills’s colleagues is gunning for him. Last year, as Congresswoman Nancy Mace was trying to pass a censure resolution to condemn Democratic Representative Ilhan Omer, Mr. Mills surprisingly voted to kill the measure. Ms. Mace claimed that Mr. Mills broke ranks only because he was afraid that Democrats would bring up their own censure resolution of him. In the months since, Ms. Mace and Mr. Mills have been going back and forth on social media about their distaste for one another, with Ms. Mace accusing him of stolen valor and Mr. Mills arguing that she is merely engaging in theatrics. If the Ethics Committee does find that Mr. Mills has broken the chamber’s rules or that he may have broken federal law, it will almost certainly host a public hearing on what kind of punishment would be appropriate. Just this year, another lawmaker, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, resigned from the House ahead of an expulsion hearing among her colleagues. She announced her resignation just minutes before the ethics panel was set to meet on whether she should be expelled or censured.

Ethics Committee Dedicating ‘Significant Resources’ to Investigation of GOP Congressman Accused of Domestic Abuse

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