Stay up to date with notifications from TheĀ Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ethics panel opens investigation into GOP's Madison Cawthorn

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn had a conflict of interest in a cryptocurrency he promoted and engaged in an improper relationship with a member of his staff

Via AP news wire
Monday 23 May 2022 21:07 BST
Election 2022 House North Carolina Cawthorn
Election 2022 House North Carolina Cawthorn (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn had a conflict of interest in a cryptocurrency he promoted and engaged in an improper relationship with a member of his staff, the panel said Monday.

The investigation is just the latest moment of high-profile scrutiny for the North Carolina Republican, who will be leaving Congress at the end of the year after losing his primary race last week to state Sen. Chuck Edwards. Cawthorn's defeat came despite support for his reelection bid from former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas, and Rep. Michael Guest, a Republican from Mississippi, will lead the review of Cawthorn. The panel cautioned that the opening of the investigation does not mean that he violated House rules.

In a statement, the congressman's chief of staff, Blake Harp said they ā€œwelcome the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain.ā€

The allegations of a potential conflict of interest stem from an April article in the Washington Examiner that reported Cawthorn may have violated federal insider trading laws when he promoted the meme coin LGB, named for the chant ā€œLet's Go Brandonā€ mocking President Joe Biden.

Cawthorn promoted the LGB coin in a Dec. 29 Instagram post where he was pictured with the hedge fund manager of the cryptocurrency. The next day, NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announced a deal with the coin, raising questions about whether Cawthorn had advanced nonpublic knowledge of the announcement, according to the Examiner.

The committee did not provide any further details on Cawthorn's alleged ā€œimproper relationship.ā€

The 26-year-old lawmaker's political career has been upended by a series of salacious headlines that contributed to his downfall in last week's primary. Since October, he has been stopped by the police three times ā€” two in which he was cited for speeding and one for driving with a revoked license. Heā€™s been caught with guns at airport checkpoints twice in the past year, including three weeks ago. And in March, as the Russian invasion into Ukraine was deepening, Cawthorn called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ā€œthugā€ even as many of his GOP colleagues were pledging support for Ukraine's government.

Shortly after that, Cawthorn further infuriated his GOP colleagues when he alleged on a podcast that he had been invited to an orgy in Washington and that he had seen leaders in the movement to end drug addiction use cocaine. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reprimanded him publicly for the remarks.

In the final weeks of Cawthorn's primary campaign videos emerged that showed him in sexually suggestive poses, which he has said were from several years ago and were meant to be funny.

Cawthorn has acknowledged the speeding and gun citations as failings, but has dismissed the videos as part of a ā€œdrip campaignā€ by his political enemies, of which he has included some establishment Republicans, to drive him out of Congress.

ā€œI am on a mission now to expose those who say and promise one thing yet legislate and work towards another, self-profiteering, globalist goal,ā€ Cawthorn said in social media post after losing his primary last week. ā€œItā€™s time for the rise of the new right, itā€™s time for Dark MAGA to truly take command.ā€

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in