House Ethics Committee To Investigate 3 GOP Members Over Alleged Financial Improprieties, Improper Relationship With Staffer

On Monday, the House Ethics Committee said it was launching an investigation to look into three GOP members, namely Madison Cawthorn, Ronny Jackson, and Alex Mooney, for alleged financial improprieties and improper relationship with a staffer.

The committee voted unanimously on May 11 to establish an investigative subcommittee to probe the North Carolina Republican's actions. In a release, the committee said that the investigative subcommittee would have jurisdiction to determine whether or not Rep. Cawthorn may have improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest.

Financial Improprieties

It also said that the subcommittee would look into whether or not the Republican lawmaker was engaged in an improper relationship with an individual employed on his congressional staff. Cawthorn's chief of staff, Blake Harp, said that the office welcomes "the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain."

In a statement, Harp said that the inquiry was simply a formality and noted that the office was not deterred in the slightest from completing the job the patriots of Western North Carolina had sent them to Washington to accomplish, as per CNN.

Last week, Cawthorn lost his re-election bid in North Carolina after sparking an uproar in the Republican Party. At the time, he claimed that he had been invited to an orgy in Washington and had personally seen leaders in the effort to curb drug addiction doing cocaine.

In the runup to the North Carolina primary, the GOP member faced a barrage of negative headlines, many of which were prompted by material put out by an opposition group that was actively looking to unseat the freshman Republican.

According to NBC News, the House Ethics Committee said that the announcement of an investigation "does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the committee." While Cawthorn denied the allegations, it was not enough for GOP voters who rejected him from serving another term after citing his lack of maturity.

Investigation of Republicans

The committee's announcement comes after a super PAC this month formally asked for Cawthorn to be investigated on seven possible violations of House ethics rules. Last month, one of the North Carolina lawmakers chief critics, Sen. Thom Tillis, urged the ethics panel into the possible cryptocurrency issue with Cawthorn.

Earlier this month, the ethics committee met to discuss the misdemeanor charges against Cawthorn for several instances of speeding and driving with a revoked license. Ultimately, the panel decided to take no further action on that issue, noting that the handling of local authorities of the matter was sufficient.

Jackson, on the other hand, is facing reported campaign disbursements that may not be legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaigns or political purposes. The committee said there was substantial evidence to believe that Jackson used his congressional campaign funds to pay for "unlimited access to the Amarillo Club."

The committee also published a report on Mooney, who this month won the primary race for the GOP nomination for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. The allegations against the Republican include that he may have accepted a "free or below-market-value trip" to Aruba and used a campaign vendor's Washington property as a free source of lodging, among others, the Washington Post reported.