Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) faces allegations of stolen valor, domestic abuse, links to a radical Islamic cleric, and is facing a congressional ethics investigation. Despite the deluge of controversy, mainstream corporate donors, high-powered lobbyists, trade associations, and other lawmakers continue to cut checks to the congressman.
Leadership at big names such as Toyota, the National Rifle Association, Robinhood, and major defense contractor General Dynamics, among others, made financial contributions to Mills’s reelection campaign after his various scandals were reported on by the media, according to recently released campaign finance filings. Donations from mainstream corporate and political entities made up more than 15% of his fundraising between April and June.
“The NRCC is presenting it as a top race for any donor in the country,” Lake County commissioner Anthony Sabatini (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner. “They probably don’t know s*** about Mills. They don’t know anything about him. They’re not following controversies and articles and this and that. They just see this is a Republican seat, a purple seat. They’re getting a call from NRCC. He’s got fundraisers dialing for dollars, and checks are coming in. There’s probably very few face-to-face contacts associated with those donations.”
Mills’s first major controversy this year came after Washington, D.C., police responded to a reported domestic assault at his penthouse apartment — an event reported on February 21. The police report associated with the alleged assault states that Mills had been conservative activist Sarah Raviani’s “significant other for over a year” and that he had “grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door.” There were “bruises on her arm which appeared fresh” when officers arrived, and Mills even “admitted [to officers] that the situation escalated from verbal to physical,” per the report.
Raviani denied that Mills had assaulted her after responding officers told Mills he would be arrested. Police officers, however, obtained a recorded phone call in which Mills “instruct[ed] her to lie about the origin of her bruises.” Police issued a warrant for Mills’s arrest on February 21, but interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin declined to sign it, with some speculating that Martin, an ally of the president, was exhibiting political favoritism in the case of Mills.
Weeks later, on March 28, the Office of Congressional Conduct released a report claiming that Mills may have violated federal law by lying on personal financial disclosures. The office noted that Mills appeared to own a firm with federal government contracts as a member of Congress, which is against the law, and recommended further investigation. Mills reportedly refused to cooperate with the Office of Congressional Conduct’s investigation.
More problematic news for the congressman broke shortly thereafter when independent journalist Roger Sollenberger reported on April 21 that Mills’s 2014 marriage to an Iraqi refugee was presided over by Mohammed al Hanooti, an Islamic cleric who was an unindicted coconspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot and the 2008 Holy Land Foundation Hamas fundraising trial. Mills’s marriage occurred at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center outside of the district, a mosque that has faced controversies over its alleged links to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
After all this transpired, Toyota’s corporate PAC, a leadership committee affiliated with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), top political operatives, and five senior Robinhood employees — including its chief brokerage officer and chief legal officer — made contributions to Mills’s reelection campaign between April 10 and May 5. Among these donors were Philip English, a senior government affairs adviser at the law firm ArentFox Schiff who was previously a member of Congress, Daniel Gallagher, a former Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission who now works for Robinhood, and a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
“Representative Mills represents Lake Mary, Florida, where Robinhood has an office with over 150 employees,” a spokesperson for the online brokerage told the Washington Examiner. “We have long engaged with policymakers on both sides of the aisle, including those who represent states and districts where we have significant physical operations, and remain focused on our efforts to preserve and expand access to the financial markets.”
Toyota did not respond to a request for comment.
Mills’s next major controversy came when five men who served with him in the armed forces went to the press with allegations that he had embellished his service record.
“He didn’t save my life,” Private First Class Joe Heit, who is listed on Mills’s bronze star recommendation form as a soldier he allegedly rescued under fire, told NOTUS in a piece published May 5. “I don’t recall him being there either.”
Sergeant Joe Ferrand, who also appears on Mills’s recommendation form as an individual he saved, called the stories on the congressman’s documents a “fabrication.” Some of Mills’s other former colleagues also allege that he lied about being an Army Ranger and military-trained sniper in a piece published by the Blaze on May 20.
The alleged discrepancies in Mills’s service record have since been relayed to the Office of Congressional Conduct.
While facing accusations of stolen valor, Mills nonetheless secured a $1,000 donation from SEAL PAC, a political committee that aims to support conservative veterans. SEAL PAC did not respond to a request for comment.
Other big-name donors that sent funds to Mills after all his controversies became known included the National Rifle Association, General Dynamics, more Robinhood executives, the National Electrical Contractors Association, the American Financial Services Association, America’s Credit Unions PAC, Honeywell International’s PAC, and a number of top-level government affairs operatives, among others.
CORY MILLS UNDER HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED FINANCIAL VIOLATIONS
Mills occupies a congressional district that the DCCC, the Democratic Party’s House campaign arm, has identified as one of its targets for the 2026 midterm elections. The congressman recently found himself in the news again after his landlord moved to evict him over $85,000 in unpaid rent — a lapse Mills blamed on a processing error. The DCCC, alluding to Mills’ myriad controversies, has taken to comparing him to former Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
Sabatini, who has a large social media presence, called the comparison “unfair,” arguing that Mills’ situation is “far, far, far worse than George’s.”
“George exaggerated a couple of things,” Sabatini said. “George never committed stolen valor and lied about having a fake military record. That never happened. George Santos never converted to Islam and also was anointed as a Muslim by a major affiliate of terrorist groups, as Mills was in Virginia.”
Some of Mills’s former associates told the Blaze that he converted to Islam in order to marry his then-wife at Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center, though Mills publicly professes to be a Christian.
The NRA, General Dynamics, the American Financial Services Association, Honeywell International, the National Electrical Contractors Association, America’s Credit Unions PAC, and Mills did not return requests for comment.