Cawthorn faces $193K lawsuit over unpaid legal bills

An Indiana law firm says it hasn't been paid for its legal services in helping the outgoing congressman remain on the North Carolina primary ballot.

Posted 7:24 p.m. Dec 15, 2022 — Updated 7:24 p.m. Dec 15, 2022

Bryan Anderson

, WRAL state government reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — A law firm that helped keep U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn on the ballot in the May primary is suing the outgoing congressman for more than $193,000 in what it described as unpaid legal bills.

Cawthorn hired the Terre Haute, Indiana-based Bopp Law Firm to represent him after opponents sought to keep Cawthorn off the ballot. The opposition to Cawthorn arose from his role on Jan. 6, 2021, to keep former President Donald Trump in office.

Cawthorn signed off on a payment agreement with the firm, but he still has a large bill to pay, according to the federal lawsuit filed Dec. 1 in Indiana. The more than $193,000 bill doesn’t include interest owed for late payments.

James Bopp Jr., who represents the firm, said in an interview that Cawthorn contacted him on Tuesday. “He has contacted me and expressed a willingness to pay the fee and resolve the matter,” Bopp said. “Now that has not yet happened, but I’m hopeful that that would turn out to be the case.”

Blake Harp, a spokesman for Cawthorn, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cawthorn successfully fended off the candidacy challenge, but he narrowly lost his primary to Republican state Sen. Chuck Edwards. In the leadup to the campaign, Cawthorn made a number of personal and political missteps, ranging from bringing a loaded gun to an airport for a second time, bolstering a meme cryptocurrency in a way that was later found to have violated congressional ethics rules, and calling Ukraine’s president a “thug” shortly after Russia invaded the country — a view that ran counter to most in his party.

Cawthorn was also met with criticism for giving tens of thousands of dollars in campaign and taxpayer funds to his second cousin — a move that drew questions of familial self-dealing but was ultimately deemed legal since it was a distant relative.

The Bopp lawsuit represents Cawthorn’s latest financial challenge. Cawthorn was ordered to pay more than $15,000 for his promotion of the “Let’s Go Brandon” cryptocurrency and shares acquired on beneficial terms.

In August, Cawthorn’s campaign reported having more than $300,000 in outstanding debt, which was largely owed to a business associated with Harp, his campaign adviser and top congressional staff member. The debt has since been reported as being paid off.

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