Madison Cawthorn To Be The Subject Of Ethics Probe Over Relationship With Staffer Stephen Smith

A House Ethics Committee will open an investigation into Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina) over two issues: an alleged improper relationship with one of his staff members and whether or not he promoted cryptocurrency that benefited himself.

The possible improper relationship is with Cawthorn’s scheduler Stephen Smith, who also happens to be his cousin, according to a Cawthorn spokesperson.

The investigation comes just days after Cawthorn lost his reelection bid in the North Carolina primary to state Sen. Chuck Edwards (R).

Cawthorn’s team maintains his innocence.

“We welcome the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain,” Cawthorn’s chief of staff Blake Harp said in a statement. “This inquiry is a formality. Our office isn’t deterred in the slightest from completing the job the patriots of Western North Carolina sent us to Washington to accomplish.”

Cawthorn responded to the committee’s announcement in a Tweet.

“Wow- I must still be a problem for the swamp! They’re still coming after me!” he wrote. 

The investigation will be headed by Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and will be joined by Reps. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Florida) and Michelle Fischbach (R-Minnesota).

This is not the first time Cawthorn’s ethics have been questioned. The freshman congressman’s time in office has been mired by missteps including driving with a revoked license, trying to take a gun into an airport on multiple occasions and accusing senior colleagues of inviting him to participate in orgies and cocaine use.