According to the subcommittee’s findings, Cawthorn sent 180 billion LGB Coin a $150,000 check in December 2021.
U.S. Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, who is leaving office, has been ordered to donate more than $14,000 to charity after the House Ethics Committee determined he profited financially by buying a cryptocurrency he was endorsing and broke the law on conflicts of interest. The probe focused on the one-term Republican’s acquisition of LGB Coin, so dubbed because it parodied Democratic President Joe Biden with the shout “Let’s Go Brandon.”
According to the committee’s findings and reprimand issued on Tuesday, Cawthorn, who lost his attempt for reelection in the May primary, “behaved in a way that did not reflect creditably upon the House” based on his overall conduct. This behavior included “his frequent and knowing advocacy of a cryptocurrency in which he has a financial stake,” according to the study.
While the promotion of cryptocurrencies, particularly “meme coins,” may be a unique problem for the committee, the study noted that the issue of whether a member can promote an asset in which the member has a financial stake is not new. Additionally, Cawthorn received a $1,000 fine for filing late reports on his bitcoin transactions.
There was no proof that Cawthorn had an inappropriate connection with a staff employee, according to other findings and recommendations from an investigation subcommittee chaired by committee chairperson Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, and ranking member Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss. A week after Cawthorn lost to state senator Chuck Edwards in the primary election for a seat in western North Carolina, committee leaders initiated an inquiry into Cawthorn on the issues. Edwards later won the general election for the position last month.
When Cawthorn, a fervent admirer of President Donald Trump, won the seat left open by Mark Meadows, Trump’s then-chief of staff, at the age of 25, many conservatives saw him as a rising star. His term in office has been marked by a string of unintentional political and personal gaffes, such as being pulled over while driving by police, being found in possession of weapons at airport checkpoints, dubbing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug,” and the publication of videos of him in lewd poses.
Cawthorn’s spokeswoman, Micah Bock, wrote in an email that the company was “pleased to see that the committee entirely exonerated him of the false, spiteful, and stupendously moronic charges of an unethical connection with staff employees.” According to Bock, Cawthorn intends to donate to a clinic for spinal cord and paralysis therapy as well as a nonprofit that supports gun rights.
According to the subcommittee’s findings, Cawthorn gave a $150,000 check for 180 billion LGB Coin in December 2021. However, the report, which referred to it as an inappropriate gift, stated that the real worth of the quantity of LGB Coin at the time he got it was greater than what he had paid. The committee then instructed Cawthorn to donate $14,237.49 to a charitable organization. Just before LGB Coin declared that it will support NASCAR driver Brandon Brown in 2022, the transaction took place, but NASCAR quickly revoked its approval in early January.
According to the committee, Cawthorn sold almost all of the “meme” coins in three batches between December 2021 and January 2022, but he didn’t reveal either the purchase or the sales until the investigating subcommittee was established. Cawthorn had also appeared in images and videos urging people to buy LGB Coin.
Regarding whether Cawthorn meant to benefit personally from the promotions, the panel claimed it was unable to come to a decision. Even while the panel determined that he had broken the law’s ethical disclosure rules by failing to declare his investment in a timely manner, it determined that he had been misinformed about the still-relatively-new cryptocurrency-related obligations.
According to the staff member who was the subject of the inquiry into Cawthorn’s relationship, Cawthorn is his second cousin. According to the study, first cousins are subject to any applicable house rules or nepotism laws. The employee helped Cawthorn with his handicap and was employed as his scheduler. Cawthorn uses a wheelchair after a vehicle accident left her largely paralyzed as a teenager.
The probe came after images and recordings showing Cawthorn and the employee “engaged in graphic and sexually provocative statements and behavior” were made public in the spring. “Just stupid locker room talk between two cousins who grew up like brothers, taken long before I served in Congress,” Cawthorn characterized a video at the time.
