After finding “substantial evidence”, the House Ethics Committee ordered GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn from North Carolina to donate nearly $15,000 Tuesday to charity. This was after he improperly promoted a cryptocurrency during his time in Congress.
An investigation that began in May focused on whether Cawthorn had a cryptocurrency called a Let’s Go Brandon currency in which he had a financial stake and whether he had a “improper relationship” with an aide to his congressional staff. In its 81-page report , the committee stated that there was no evidence of improper relationships between Cawthorn or the staffer.
The subcommittee, however, found that Cawthorn had violated rules regarding conflicts of interest and ordered him to pay $14.237.49 to a charitable organization by Dec. 31.
It was also determined that Cawthorn (27), failed to timely report to the House “disclosing transactions relating to cryptocurrency”. Even though the panel found that Cawthorn did not intentionally fail to timely file disclosures, he was still required to pay $1,000 to Treasury Department for late fees.
NBC News reached out to Cawthorn’s Office for Comment.
After an April complaint by American Muckrakers PAC to the Office of Congressional Ethics, the House probe was initiated. The article cited a Washington Examiner article naming “multiple watchdog organizations” that suggested the first-term lawmaker might have violated insider trading laws in an alleged crypto scheme.
The PAC also claimed that Cawthorn was in a relationship with an aide.
After reviewing documents and interviewing Cawthorn, the subcommittee concluded that there was no evidence that Cawthorn had an inappropriate relationship with one of his staff members and recommended that they not take any further action in relation to this allegation.
Cawthorn was supported by Donald Trump in the GOP primary this year. lost his bid for renomination shortly after , causing uproar. He claimed that older congressmen were using drugs and some of them had invited him to an ” sexual get together.”
Kyle Stewart contributed.
