Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_628c1f291e387" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina will face allegations he was involved in a crypto pump and dump scheme</li>
 <li>Cawthorn is also being investigated over allegations he had an &#8220;improper relationship&#8221; with a congressional staff member</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



An investigation of Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn is expected sometime this year that will determine the extent of his alleged involvement in a crypto pump and dump scheme.



According to a <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/sites/ethics.house.gov/files/documents/Press%20Release_267.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> on Monday, Cawthorn will face four members of Congress in a subcommittee over his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rep-madison-cawthorn-appears-to-have-violated-the-stock-act-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alleged involvement</a> in promoting what is suspected to be the Let&#8217;s Go Brandon crypto scheme.



&#8220;The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an Investigative Subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred,&#8221; the statement reads.



The US House Ethics Subcommittee, to be chaired by Texan Democrat Veronica Escobar, will look at whether or not Cawthorn <a href="https://twitter.com/davelevinthal/status/1519448348897464321?s=20&amp;t=Oxi-0coEQDZ_ZEW2rNYRIg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abused his position</a> and promoted the project while determining whether he may have had an &#8220;undisclosed financial interest&#8221; in it.



Cawthorn is also being investigated over his alleged &#8220;improper relationship&#8221; with a congressional staffer.



The project, known as <a href="https://www.letsgobrandon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Let&#8217;s Go Brandon</a>, touts itself as an ERC-20 decentralized meme token &#8220;inspiring positivity and patriotism.&#8221; The project also purports to feature an &#8220;anti-whale&#8221; dumping mechanism that prohibits foundation supporters and large bag holders from selling the token within a sixth-month timeframe.



Since April 23, the token has shed 83% of its value and was last seen trading for a fraction of a cent, near zero. The token represents the Let&#8217;s Go Brandon movement which is a stand-in, among <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lets-go-brandon-what-does-it-mean-republicans-joe-biden-ab13db212067928455a3dba07756a160" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">right-wing circles</a>, and a reference to US President Joe Biden. Its true meaning stands for “F—- Joe Biden.”



A <a href="https://www.classaction.org/media/ford-v-koutoulas-et-al.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">class-action lawsuit</a> against the token&#8217;s founders, brought forward by one jilted investor, is accusing the founders of orchestrating a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/madison-cawthorn-implicated-in-potential-insider-trading-scheme-experts-say" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pump-and-dump scheme</a>.



Cawthorn, who has taken to <a href="https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1505970526417735692?s=20&amp;t=SahCY3pmhA5DXVqkEy1HIw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social media</a> on several occasions to <a href="https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1506013221710622721?s=20&amp;t=z4EV5XxLUjJsKi0v_7Nghw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">promote</a> the token, has been caught up in allegations he &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1511744582450565124?s=20&amp;t=pQC5lg2tJ89ZecDnDN3cNQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">swindled</a>&#8221; people and willingly promoted the scheme. Republican senator Thom Tillis called on Congress last month to investigate instances of insider trading and demanded Cawthorn answer to North Carolinians.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Insider trading by a member of Congress is a serious betrayal of their oath, and Congressman Cawthorn owes North Carolinians an explanation. There needs to be a thorough and bipartisan inquiry into the matter by the House Ethics Committee. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ncpol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ncpol</a> <a href="https://t.co/3s1UJMk1tj">https://t.co/3s1UJMk1tj</a>&mdash; Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenThomTillis/status/1519317945012432901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The 26-year-old, who became one of Congress&#8217; youngest members, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-concedes-nc-primary-gop.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lost the party primary contest</a> last week in the Republican-held rural 11th district of North Carolina by a tight margin of around 1,500 votes.



Dubbed a political <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-concedes-nc-primary-gop.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">firebrand</a> by many critics and proponents, Cawthorn was once hailed as a rising star within the far-right faction of the Republican Party who rode on the coattails of Trumpism when he was elected in 2020.



Cawthorn <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/cawthorn-responds-gop-backlash-orgy-comments-blaming-democrats-remarks-rcna22667" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fell out of favor</a> with his Republican colleagues when he insinuated that some Republican members of Congress had invited him to an orgy.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Empire</a>: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">Forward Guidance</a>: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha directly in your inbox.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Lightspeed</a>: All things Solana.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thedrop">The Drop</a>: Apps, games, memes and more.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/supplyshock">Supply Shock</a>: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.</li>
</ul>