The committee did not provide any further details on Cawthorn’s alleged “improper relationship.” The next day, NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announced a deal with the coin, raising questions about whether Cawthorn had advanced nonpublic knowledge of the announcement, according to the Examiner. 29 Instagram post where he was pictured with the hedge fund manager of the cryptocurrency. The allegations of a potential conflict of interest stem from an April article in the Washington Examiner that reported Cawthorn may have violated federal insider trading laws when he promoted the meme coin LGB, named for the chant “Let’s Go Brandon” mocking President Joe Biden.Ĭawthorn promoted the LGB coin in a Dec. In a statement, the congressman’s chief of staff, Blake Harp said they “welcome the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain.” The panel cautioned that the opening of the investigation does not mean that he violated House rules. Michael Guest, a Republican from Mississippi, will lead the review of Cawthorn. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas, and Rep. Cawthorn’s defeat came despite support for his reelection bid from former President Donald Trump. The investigation is just the latest moment of high-profile scrutiny for the North Carolina Republican, who will be leaving Congress at the end of the year after losing his primary race last week to state Sen. Madison Cawthorn had a conflict of interest in a cryptocurrency he promoted and engaged in an improper relationship with a member of his staff, the panel said Monday. He was not charged criminally in that case.WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Republican Rep. TSA agents at the regional airport in Cawthorn’s hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, seized a pistol from his bag in February 2021. Tuesday was not the first time law enforcement officials have reportedly found a gun on Cawthorn at an airport. The rightwing gadfly and supporter of Donald Trump riled up senior members of his Republican party over his claims of being invited to orgies and of having witnessed prominent figures using cocaine in Washington DC.Ĭawthorn has also accumulated a number of speeding tickets across multiple states in recent years, including a charge that he drove despite having his license revoked in a county west of Charlotte. Anyone convicted of the misdemeanor could get up to 120 days in jail and be fined by both the city government as well as the federal Transportation Security Administration.Ĭawthorn, who took office early last year, has often landed in controversy. The congressman was nearby and admitted that the gun was his.Ī municipal law in Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina, prohibits people from possessing guns on airport and other property owned by the city government. They also confiscated the gun.Ĭawthorn, whom police described as “cooperative” with officers, didn’t immediately comment on his encounter with officers at the airport Tuesday.Īccording to police, officers at the airport’s security screening checkpoint spotted a gun in a bag belonging to Cawthorn. Police didn’t arrest Cawthorn, instead essentially issuing him a ticket summoning him to return to court at a later date to answer to the weapon charge.
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