James Fishback issued a public apology on X just after midnight Wednesday, retracting claims he made during the Republican primary that U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills were under federal investigation for sex trafficking.

Fishback, who challenged Donalds in the Florida governor primary, stated he made a "terrible mistake" by repeating information from a trusted source. He accepted the Department of Justice's earlier statement that neither man faced such scrutiny and acknowledged that he had "bore false witness."

The original allegations surfaced in early August, less than two weeks before the Aug. 18 primary. Fishback claimed a whistleblower provided evidence linking the congressmen to investigations focused on visits to the MGM National Harbor resort in Maryland on May 17 and November 19, 2024. He pointed to text messages from Mills and photographs of the two men at the location. The DOJ quickly called the claims "absolutely false," and Donalds' campaign labeled them baseless.

In his retraction, Fishback cited his Catholic faith and a recent confession as reasons for the public correction. "As a Catholic, I take the Ten Commandments seriously," he wrote. "After speaking with my priest and going to confession, I have a moral obligation to publicly retract my statement and apologize. I apologize to Byron, Cory, and their families for what I said." He emphasized that neither congressman nor their lawyers prompted the apology and signed the post "In Christ."

A strategist for Mills called for Fishback to exit politics entirely following the admission. Fishback claimed to have posted the apology without consulting his lawyer, noting it was the right thing to do regardless of legal implications.

The primary contest between Fishback and Donalds grew contentious after the allegations, with Donalds ultimately securing the nomination by large double-digit margins. Fishback's reversal comes more than two months after the primary and follows the DOJ's public denial of any investigation into the congressmen.