Questions for U.S. Rep. Cory Mills after ‘scripted’ town hall

Cory Mills, who represents Seminole County and parts of Volusia,Orange and Putnam counties in the U.S. House of Representatives, held a tele-town hall on April 8, during which 11 total questions were asked and answered over the almost-hour-long event. 

The event left many disappointed due to its format, feelings it was “scripted,” limited engagement throughout and the lack of acknowledgement of an alleged violent assault Mills was named in in Washington D.C.

A spokesperson for Mills released a statement denying any wrongdoing.

“Law enforcement was asked to resolve a private matter at Congressman Mills’ residence,” the statement said. “Congressman Mills vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and is confident any investigation will clear this matter quickly.”

Mills has not been charged, and an official told the Associated Press that the case may not result in charges at all.

Constituents began hearing that the tele-town hall was taking place just a day prior, and Mills first announced it on his Facebook page the morning of.

“He started posting on Facebook again and opened the comments for … two posts, and then now they’re back off again, so I don’t know what’s going on over there,” Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek said.

In the more than two dozen Facebook posts since April 1, only two have comments on them, including the one he made following the town hall, which has generated 257 comments at time of publication.

“He’s dodging his job, that’s what I feel,” Oviedo Deputy Mayor Natalie Teuchert said. “There’s no accountability. Your job as a politician is, I mean, it’s a public service job; you should be accessible by people that you represent.

“The boss is the people you represent, so if you’re not showing up to listen and hear what they’d have to say and confronting issues, you’re not doing your job,” she said. 

At the end of the tele-town hall, the moderator said people who were left on hold — at one point more than 200 callers were in-line to ask a question — could leave a voicemail with their questions.

Sladek said that while she was on hold to ask a question — she was going to ask when he would hold an in-person town hall in Oviedo — “I never got a chance to leave a question. Maybe there was some kind of mechanism, but I was just sort of in a queue and nobody ever said ‘what’s your question?’

“I was just waiting and never got out of the 200-person line,” she said. 

However, there has been no public notice of what the questions were, how many were asked on voicemail or if they have been answered. OCN called all three of Mills’ offices more than a dozen times and an aide to Mills, leaving multiple voice messages asking about the status of the outstanding questions, but have not received a response at time of publication.

“What kind of person doesn’t call?” Sladek said. “You always [should] call back.

“I’m sad to hear that.”

Mills held an in-person event on Tuesday with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins at Seminole County’s Casselberry Veterans & Auxiliary Center, the invite for what was called a “town hall” said “Please invite all veterans you feel would be productive to discuss the issues affecting veterans on a local and national level.” 

Jon Brumley, president of Casselberry Veterans & Auxiliary, Inc., said he was first contacted by Mills staff “about a week ago” about hosting the event, which the Orlando Sentinel said included about 150 people. 

“It was a good crowd,” he said. 

Brumley said questions for the event were written on cards beforehand, reviewed by a moderator and then asked.

Following last week’s tele-town hall, OCN asked readers what questions they had for Mills and comments about the tele-town hall. Below are all of the submissions, which have been edited only for grammar and clarity:

1. My question for Cory Mills, had I been allowed to ask it, was this:

He states that he is dedicated to upholding the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. If that is so, how can he say that he totally supports [President Donald] Trump, who has repeatedly violated his oath to the Constitution since he entered the Oval Office?

2. I agree with Mayor Sladek about Congressman Mills’ town hall. It was definitely scripted. Though his office described it as a lively discussion, there was absolutely no conversation. Mr. Mills just gave what sounded like planned speeches in response to curated questions. They did three polls, but we haven’t been informed what the results were.

[Editor’s note: The results of the polls were posted to Mills’ Facebook page on April 10]

3. While I had intended to dial in to Cory Mills’ so-called town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m., I was distracted and did not. Imagine my surprise when 10 minutes later, my cellphone rang from a robocall inviting me to join the call. I stayed on for only a short while because of the high-energy sales pitch that buzzed into my ear. Clearly the message was one pushing the MAGA party line.

4. It was a one-sided conversation. He talked, we could only listen. There was no real opportunity to ask substantive questions, or to follow up. We were all on mute while he rambled on.

I left him a voicemail and suggested that he get out here and really listen to his constituents.

5. I, too, was in the queue to ask a question of Rep. Mills at his ‘town meeting’ and was disconnected at 7:20 and unable to get back into the event.

My question was: As a military veteran (and I do thank you for your service), and that being a big part of your self promotion, I expected you to be out front fighting tooth and nail to save the benefits and services being taken away from your fellow vets by Trump and [Elon] Musk.

6. This is in response to the article “Short-notice Mills town hall call ‘sounded scripted,’ says mayor.”

I find this all very disturbing and very disheartening. Our “elected” officials who quite technically work for us, the community, do not meet with us face to face. I truly hope people remember this the next time there are local elections and elect officials that are willing to meet with the community where they are instead of hiding behind a phone and script.

7. Mills is currently being investigated by the Army and a criminal complaint has been filed against Mills for stolen valor. [Ed. Note: While Mills has been under investigation by the Office of Congressional Conduct and House Ethics Committee, it was for alleged weapons contracts. Allegations of stolen valor were made by Republican primary opponent Michael Johnson, for which Mills shared documents of his record.] 

Mills must be taken off the Military Personnel Subcommittee for conflict of interest while the investigation goes on. … When is he going to recuse himself from the Foreign affairs committee?

[Ed. Note: The comment above made additional allegations against Mills that OCN could not verify, so they were removed.]

8. I just finished reading your article on Mills’ town hall. I did not have the opportunity to attend given the short notice but still had a few questions to ask him. I am not sure if I will ever get the opportunity to ask him, but you may be able to get answers. Some of these include his business interests during his time as a Congressman. During the town hall, he appeared to be against members of Congress benefitting from their position. I was previously aware of his affiliations with a munitions company he co-founded, but unaware it appears he may be benefiting from federal contracts according to a report from the office of congressional ethics requesting investigations and subpoenas, covered in articles from Politico and Business Insider. 

My first question would be does Rep. Mills currently have ownership of Pacem Solutions, Pacem Defense or ALS, and do these companies currently have contracts with the federal government? Why did he not cooperate with the board of Congressional ethics during its investigation? Does Pacem Solutions/Defense/ALS currently hold contracts with foreign states, and which ones, if any? I find Rep. Mills’ ownership of these companies concerning considering his position on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the ongoing conflicts globally.

I have other questions regarding international issues, especially considering his position on the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and background in international affairs. Namely, Does Rep. Mills support the annexation of Greenland? I was under the impression that we already had agreements to build military bases on Greenland; are these still valid? Does Rep. Mills support the annexation of Canada? As a Canadian-American, it is baffling to me that I really need to ask if one recognizes Canada’s sovereignty. Does Rep. Mills support the annexation of the Panama Canal? What evidence does he have to support his claim that “Right there in the Darien Gap, you have got Mainland Chinese who are actually printing fentanyl and putting it on the mules to be able to carry across.” (The Floridian)

I was also concerned with the executive branch’s unilateral withholding/cutting of science funding. Oviedo neighbors UCF and our economies are intermixed. The research funding that UCF receives pays the salaries of professors, researchers and students, many of which reside and do business in Oviedo. The research conducted often leads to startups choosing to remain nearby. My question is: Does Rep. Mills support science funding and what is he doing to prevent the executive branch’s unilateral cutting of funds appropriated by Congress? Many of the research grants provided to UCF rely on federal agencies’ approval and continued support. With the recent firing within federal agencies, what is Rep. Mills doing to ensure that these federal agencies can continue to provide and sustain these research grants? What does the reduction in science funding mean for the future of UCF and Oviedo?

Obviously, the “elephant in the room” remains. My concern is that it gets swept under the rug due to the alleged victim recanting her claims, so legal accountability is not likely. There are still some unanswered questions … [Ed. Note: An unsubstantiated claim was removed] and if there was no physical altercation (as claimed by the alleged victim) why physical violence was claimed during the 911 call. It seems like an awful coincidence that there are claims of a physical altercation, … [Ed. Note: An unsubstantiated claim was removed] police witnessing that evidence, and yet claims that no physical altercation occurred. Would it be possible to obtain the original 911 call from D.C.’s MPD to confirm some of these details? I am not sure if this would fall under FOIA and this story has lost the attention of D.C. news agencies. I think the public deserves to know if their Congressman abuses [a woman]. Although I understand wanting to protect the alleged victim, she is in a relationship with a public figure and made the 911 call. If her statements to the police on that call were false, then she likely committed a crime. If her statements were true, then Rep. Mills did get in a physical altercation with [a woman] severe enough that the police were called.

I hope I get the opportunity to ask these questions directly, but perhaps you may be able to shed some light on some of my concerns. 

9. I think the most salient question regarding Mills is whether he’s doing a good job for the people in his district, Florida and America. The “Elephant in the room” is a “he-said, she-said” distraction where both sides are saying the same thing … there was a heated dispute. [Ed. Note: Unsubstantiated claims were removed] We used to call those “arguments’, but today they’re used to assassinate character. [Ed. Note: A list of both substantiated and unsubstantiated incidents by Democratic officials Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were removed for clarity. Links to the background of the claims are included]. Only an idiot (or an opportunistic political opponent) would think Mills’ “elephant” was important when the nation is facing such enormous levels of betrayal by the elected class. If Mills is doing a good job – or a bad one – that’s infinitely more important than innuendo about his personal life. … [Ed. Note: An unsubstantiated claim was removed] I don’t fault Mills for doing a tele-meeting. But I do agree that in-person Town Halls are generally better – if those present purely for the purpose of disruption can be effectively controlled.