House Ethics Committee plans inquiry into Cawthorn over cryptocurrency, staffer allegations
The 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 questions stem partly from a Washington Examiner story that ran last month, which suggested Cawthorn had advance notice of a deal that caused a cryptocurrency to surge in value. A political action committee that worked against Cawthorn in the run-up to last week's primary election filed a complaint last month over that issue and several others, including questions surrounding Cawthorn's relationship with a staffer who is also his second cousin.
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."
Cawthorn's office didn't immediately respond Monday to a WRAL News request for comment. His chief of staff, Blake Harp, told The Hill that Cawthorn did nothing wrong and was "falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain."
"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.”
The push for investigation was bipartisan, though. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called for an inquiry.
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.
Edwards defeated Cawthorn in that primary.
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."
The committee also said Monday that it wouldn’t create an investigative panel into misdemeanor charges filed against Cawthorn for driving with a revoked license and speeding in North Carolina.
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.
