Republican Florida gubernatorial candidate and Byron Donalds’ primary challenger, James Fishback, leveled serious accusations against Donalds this week, claiming that the gubernatorial candidate is now under investigation for sex trafficking.
The Department of Justice and Byron Donalds’ campaign have both denied the claims.
In a video statement, Fishback claimed a “government whistleblower” came forward, tying Donalds to an ongoing federal investigation into Rep. Cory Mills and claiming that the investigation centers around federal sex trafficking.
Details of the DOJ’s investigation into Mills, reported last month, remain unclear, but we know it is, in part, focused on his finances.
Fishback alleged that the investigation “has now expanded to include U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds,” claiming that Donalds and Mills both are believed to have “solicited, procured, and paid women for sexual acts” at the MGM National Harbor resort near Washington, DC.
WATCH:
This is not political. This is about transparency. On July 21, 2026, NBC News reported that Republican Florida Congressman Cory Mills was under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice. Like virtually every federal investigation, this one began with a single suspect and quickly spread to include others.
This government whistleblower who approached my campaign has confirmed that this investigation has now expanded to include U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds, who along with Cory Mills is under investigation for federal sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors are investigating two dates in question: May 17, 2024, and November 19, 2024, dates when Congresman Mills and Donalds are said to have traveled to the MGM National Harbor, a luxury hotel resort in Oxon Hill, Maryland, where prosecutors believe that both Mills and Donalds solicited, procured, and paid women for sexual acts.
Federal prosecutors are in the final stages of this investigation and will soon charge both men under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 1952, a felony that carries the conviction of five years in prison. In the coming hours, Byron Donalds will call this investigation a political attack. It’s not. The Department of Justice, led by a Trump appointee of the same political party, is not investigating Congressman Donald’s for political reasons. They are investigating him because there is credible evidence that he committed a very serious crime.
However, the Department of Justice’s communications denied the claim, accusing Fishback of making a false accusation, which they called a “dangerous form of weaponization.”
“This claim is not true. Congressman Byron Donalds is not under investigation,” they wrote.
Falsely accusing someone of being under investigation is a dangerous form of weaponization. This claim is not true. Congressman Byron Donalds is not under investigation. https://t.co/QW26cT7b4d
— DOJ Rapid Response (@DOJRR47) August 7, 2026
Byron Donalds’ campaign also responded, denying the claims as “completely false,” Florida Politics reported.
“We will not be distracted by this baseless and defamatory sideshow, and neither should you,” spokesman Gates McGavick told the outlet.
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