- Rep. Madison Cawthorn was fined over $15,000 by the House Ethics Committee, according to a new report.
- Cawthorn promoted a cryptocurrency named after “Let’s Go Brandon,” which he had personally invested in.
- The committee also cleared Cawthorn of allegations that he had an improper relationship with a staffer.
Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina was ordered to fork over more than $15,000 by the House Ethics Committee after improperly promoting a cryptocurrency in which he had a financial interest.
In an 81-page report released on Tuesday, the Committee on House Ethics said that its investigative subcommittee had failed to come to a consensus on whether to formally reprimand Cawthorn, but said the release of the report should “serve as an admonishment” of the congressman.
The committee’s report said the investigative subcommittee couldn’t reach a consensus on whether Cawthorn personally intended to profit from promoting the “LGB Coin” cryptocurrency, which is named after the “Let’s Go Brandon” euphemism used to insult President Joe Biden.
But they found that Cawthorn had purchased LGB Coin on terms more favorable than those available to the general public by paying a sum “based on an over two-week-old valuation” of the cryptocurrency, thus violating House rules by accepting a gift.
The Committee unanimously voted to order Cawthorn to pay $14,237.49 — the approximate value of the gift — to a charitable organization within 14 days.
He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 late filing fee and file a periodic transaction report disclosing the purchase of the cryptocurrency.
Cawthorn has failed to properly disclose his cryptocurrency trades multiple times in the last year.
“While cryptocurrency promotion, particularly of a ‘meme coin,’ may be a novel issue before the Committee, whether a Member may promote an asset in which that Member has a financial interest is not a novel question,” read the report.
The Committee also cleared the 27-year-old congressman, who lost re-election earlier this year, of allegations that he’d had an improper relationship with a member of his staff and had engaged in nepotism.
In clearing Cawthorn of the improper relationship, the committee’s report noted “public discussion in news articles and on social media” about the “photographs and videos depicting the two of them engaging in explicit and sexually suggestive comments and conduct.”
The committee said both Cawthorn and the staffer “denied having any romantic or sexual relationship.” The report also said it was not nepotistic for Cawthorn to employ the man as a member of his staff, since he was “not a first cousin.”
Cawthorn’s congressional office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
