Shock Retraction Rocks Florida Race

Legal documents labeled lawsuit on a desk — Photo: LifetimeStock / Shutterstock

James Fishback publicly retracted his sex-trafficking claims against Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills, accepted the Justice Department’s denial, and apologized.

Story Snapshot

Fishback withdrew his August allegation and called it a “terrible mistake.”
He accepted the Department of Justice denial that either man was under investigation.
His apology named both Donalds and Mills and said no lawyers compelled it.
The original claim surfaced before a primary and drew sharp campaign pushback.

What Fishback Said In His Retraction

On October 28, 2026, James Fishback issued a written apology and full retraction. He said he made a “terrible mistake” by claiming in early August that Byron Donalds and Cory Mills were under federal investigation. He stated that he accepted the Department of Justice’s public statement that neither man was under investigation, adding that he “bore false witness.” He apologized to Byron, Cory, and their families, and tied his apology to his Catholic faith and personal conscience.

Fishback added that neither congressman nor their lawyers asked him to write the retraction. He said neither man had contacted him about it. His statement framed the apology as voluntary and not the result of legal pressure. That detail matters because it addresses claims of coercion that often cloud political retractions. It also sets a clear record that the withdrawal covers both named lawmakers without carving out exceptions or qualifiers.

How The Justice Department And Campaigns Responded

In August, the Department of Justice rejected the allegation against Donalds as “absolutely false,” and a law-enforcement official said Donalds was not under investigation. Reporting also said any inquiry involving Mills was finance-related, not sexual in nature. Donalds’s campaign called the claim a “baseless and defamatory sideshow.” Those denials created strong headwinds for the accusation and shaped the fast-moving media response during a heated campaign period.

Contemporaneous reports described Fishback’s original claim with specific dates, a location, and alleged conduct. The allegation cited the MGM National Harbor in Maryland and two 2024 dates. It said the men solicited and paid women for sexual acts, and it referenced supposed federal charges. The specificity made the story vivid and damaging. But the firm Justice Department denial, echoed by campaigns, quickly defined the public narrative and undermined the accusation’s credibility.

Why The Timing And Retraction Matter Beyond This Case

The accusation arrived less than two weeks before an August 18 primary and the apology came in late October. That sequence fed the political framing around the episode. Research shows that false accusations can leave a mark even after correction. A recent study found negative impressions of political candidates often persist despite retractions. That helps explain why campaigns and voters may remember the charge long after a formal withdrawal and apology.

Fishback previously accused Donalds, as well as U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, of being under a sex trafficking investigation. The DOJ had said those claims were false. https://t.co/6oaMoWol5H

— 10 Tampa Bay News (@10TampaBay) October 29, 2026

This episode also reflects a deeper worry shared across the political spectrum. Voters see a system where explosive claims spread fast, while corrections land late and light. People on the right and left feel elites and institutions protect their own. When accusations collapse, trust in media and campaigns erodes further. Studies call this the “corrections dilemma”: retractions can improve accuracy yet still reduce trust in the messenger, fueling broad cynicism about who is telling the truth.