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House Ethics Committee Probing Cawthorn’s ‘Improper’ Relationship With Staffer

The outgoing congressman is also under investigation for prompting a cryptocurrency he had a financial interest in.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating outgoing Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) over claims that he committed insider trading related to a cryptocurrency and had an “improper relationship” with a congressional staffer. The two incidents under investigation appear to mirror two allegations included in an ethics complaint filed by an anti-Cawthorn PAC last month. The group accused Cawthorn of promoting the “Let’s Go Brandon” cryptocurrency despite having a financial interest, and of employing his third cousin Stephen Smith as a scheduler. The PAC’s complaint also included a video of Cawthorn with his hand on Smith’s crotch as he said, “I feel the passion and desire and would like to see a naked body beneath my hands.” Cawthorn’s chief of staff told The Hill that the congressman has been “falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain.”