House Ethics Committee investigating Cawthorn trading, staffer affair allegations

The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., for accusations of insider dealing in cryptocurrency and allegations of an improper affair with one of his staff members.

House ethics investigators will look into “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,” the panel announced Monday afternoon.

The panel also announced it would not investigate charges that Cawthorn drove on a suspended license in March, determining that the matter was best handled by local law enforcement.

“We welcome the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain,” Cawthorn chief of staff Blake Harp said in a statement Monday.

“This inquiry is a formality,” Harp continued. “Our office isn’t deterred in the slightest from completing the job the patriots of Western North Carolina sent us to Washington to accomplish.”

Cawthorn, 26, lost a close primary battle last week to North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards, after a broad array of Republicans united against Cawthorn following a deluge of scandals ranging from a video of him naked and thrusting himself onto another man to his own accusations that other members of Congress engaged in cocaine-fueled orgies in Washington.

After his surprise loss, Cawthorn promised that a new brand of “Dark Maga” would “rise on the right” in response to his defeat.