House Ethics Committee plans inquiry into Cawthorn over cryptocurrency, staffer allegations
Accusations surfaced last month against Cawthorn. Now the House Ethics Committee will review.
Posted — UpdatedThe U.S. House Committee on Ethics said Monday that it is investigating outgoing U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, questioning whether he improperly pumped up an investment in which he may have had an undisclosed interest, and whether he had an improper relationship with a congressional staffer.
The ethics committee created an investigative subcommittee on these issues. The committee chairman said in a statement Monday that it "shall have jurisdiction to determine whether Representative Madison Cawthorn may have: improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest, and engaged in an improper relationship with an individual employed on his congressional staff."
"This inquiry is a formality," Harp told The Hill. "Our office isn’t deterred in the slightest from completing the job the patriots of Western North Carolina sent us to Washington to accomplish.”
Tillis also supported Cawthorn's opponent, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, in last week's GOP primary after a string of controversies involving Cawthorn, a first-term Republican from Western North Carolina.
The Ethics Committee said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, will chair the investigative subcommittee and that U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., will be the committee's ranking Republican.
The cryptocurrency accusations against Cawthorn amount to allegations of insider trading based largely on social media posts that indicate Cawthorn had advance knowledge of a marketing deal that caused a short-term boost in the value of a digital asset called the "Let's Go Brandon" coin.
The House Ethics Committee chairman noted in Monday's announcement that "the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred."
Cawthorn told the committee he had paid a fine to resolve one of the charges and intends to pay fines associated with the remaining charges, the committee said. “The handling of this matter by local authorities is sufficient given the facts of the matter,” the committee said.
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