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Madison Cawthorn Hit With US House Ethics Investigation Over Crypto Promotion
The probe, announced Monday, appears to be related to the “Let’s Go Brandon” meme coin.
By Danny Nelson
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:40 p.m. Published May 23, 2022, 6:43 p.m.
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An alleged pump-and-dump of the “Let’s Go Brandon” meme coin by Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) appears to have sparked an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a press release Monday, the House Committee on Ethics announced an investigation into whether Cawthorn “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest.”
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The investigation follows reports that Cawthorn owned and promoted the Let’s Go Brandon token one day before it announced a partnership with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown. “Let’s Go Brandon” has become right-wing shorthand for “F*** Joe Biden.”
“LGB legends. ... Tomorrow we go to the moon!,” Cawthone told his Instagram followers the night prior to that announcement, according to the Washington Examiner. (The token did indeed rocket on the news. It has since cratered.)
A controversial congressman with few allies left even in the Republican Party, Cawthorn’s alleged insider trading prompted calls for a congressional ethics investigation by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
The investigation will have to move quickly: Cawthorn, who lost his primary race, will exit Congress at the end of the year.
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