Madison Cawthorn faces House Ethics Committee investigation

The House Ethics Committee announced on Monday it is opening an investigation into Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.).

The committee, which voted unanimously to launch the probe, said it will determine whether 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."

Blake Harp, Cawthorn's chief of staff, said in a statement his office welcomes "the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain. This inquiry is a formality."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It's been a tumultuous spring for Cawthorn, who claimed in March that Republican lawmakers invited him to orgies and openly did drugs in front of him. Cawthorn was also recently charged with a misdemeanor for driving with a revoked license; entered an airport with a loaded handgun; and referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "a thug." Last week, the freshman representative lost his re-election bid.