Cory Mills denies any ‘quid pro quo’ to avoid censure vote

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills denies that he participated in any backroom deal to avoid a House censure.

The New Smyrna Republican issued a statement saying he expected a censure resolution to hit the floor Tuesday evening shortly after the House was expected to pass a similar measure targeting Resident Commissioner Stacey Plaskett.

“It has been made obvious to me that in recent months, Democrats have been using me as a political pawn,” Mills said. “So, with full transparency, my team and I fully expected that a vote to censure me would be brought to the floor yesterday. We prepared for it. But it never came, which surprised us just as much as anyone else.”

Mills is a top target for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He also has repeatedly seen personal scandals in the headlines this year, and drawn criticism from the Left and Right.

The House on Tuesday evening considered the resolution to censure Plaskett and strip her committee assignments over texts with dead sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, but the measure failed. Colleagues, including fellow Republican U.S. Reps. Kat Cammack and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, alleged Republican leadership cut a deal to make sure a similar resolution wasn’t then brought on a troubled Republican member, with Luna identifying Mills as the likely target.

But Mills noted that he voted to censure Plaskett.

“Yesterday, along with most of my colleagues, I voted to censure Democrat Delegate Stacey Plaskett for being coached by Jeffrey Epstein through text messages during an anti-(Donald) Trump committee hearing. Her conduct was unethical and warranted censure,” Mills said. “I believe every one of my colleagues should have voted to censure her, and those who didn’t should be confronted individually.”

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday filed a privileged resolution to censure Mills anyway for a series of personal scandals. Those include an ongoing House Ethics investigation into whether the former defense contractor is still profiting from federal contracts, allegations he assaulted a girlfriend who reported the incident to police before recanting it, and a restraining order issued after an ex-girlfriend said he threatened to release intimate photos.

Mace last month also alleged Mills helped kill her own censure resolution against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, over controversial comments on the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Democrats had a censure resolution to bring against Mills at the time but dropped it following the vote.

Mills said then he thought the censure was inappropriate, citing Omar’s free speech rights. He said there was no deal cut then. He maintains the same now.

“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. Anyone pushing that narrative is just wrong,” he said.

“My focus to defend America, Americans and American interests remains unchanged. I did not and will not compromise my vote or my integrity to submit to the left’s political games.”