WASHINGTON — In less than 24 hours, complaints have been filed with the House Ethics Committee, the Transportation Security Administration and the House sergeant-at-arms involving U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
The latest complaints against Cawthorn, a 26-year-old Republican representing North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, allege he is providing free housing and money to a member of his staff, carried a loaded gun into an airport and may have participated in insider trading.
The allegations involving Cawthorn’s scheduler, Stephen Smith, come with photos, videos and screenshots of financial transactions between the pair that led the complainant to ask the ethics committee to also look into the nature of their relationship.
Cawthorn, the youngest member of the 117th Congress, has been in the headlines almost daily in the past week and frequently in the past month for controversial things he has said and done.
The News & Observer reached out to Cawthorn’s staff about the filed complaints and was directed to a tweet from Cawthorn saying, “We see through it, RINOs,” with a screenshot of an Epoch Times article blaming the “Establishment” for his latest controversies. Epoch Times is a right-wing news outlet connected to the Chinese religious movement Falun Gong.
This week, he has blamed his Republican colleagues for what he calls a “drip campaign” against him. But he also appears to be reveling in it. On Friday, he celebrated his latest string of controversies by posting to Twitter: “I’ve gained 43,000 followers since the coordinated assault against me and my reelection.”
Cawthorn faces seven Republicans seeking the nomination to replace him in the May 17 primary.
He also posted on social media Friday: “RINOS are tripping over themselves to defeat me. They will lose. We will win.” RINOS refers to “Republicans in Name Only.”
David Wheeler, president and co-founder of American Muckrackers PAC, filed the ethics complaint. He is one of the people behind the Fire Madison organization, who opposes Cawthorn and is working to prevent him from being reelected. He accuses both Cawthorn and his scheduler Smith of violating several House rules.
Smith is accused of taking financial gifts and handouts from Cawthorn. Cawthorn is accused of providing Smith free housing, travel expenses, loans and failing to disclose the loans and gifts.
Smith doesn’t just work for Cawthorn in Congress but also works on his campaign. Between Jan. 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022. Smith made nearly $34,108 working for the campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Smith and Cawthorn are also related to one another. Cawthorn testified in 2017 for a deposition related to the wreck that left him in a wheelchair that Smith is the grandson of his grandmother’s sister. That makes the men second cousins.
He further testified that Smith moved into a rental with Cawthorn to help him with day-to-day tasks that Cawthorn wouldn’t be able to do for himself without modifying the residence.
Photographs on Cawthorn and Smith’s social media posts show Smith at Cawthorn’s side, since his wreck, helping him through the recovery. The photos show them together at family gatherings, traveling the world and campaigning. Smith is often seen to Cawthorn’s right when the congressman chooses to stand up at events and rallies.
Both Cawthorn and Smith use the same address in Hendersonville. Smith lists it on his voter registration, and it’s listed in campaign records for where Smith gets his paychecks.
Another portion of the complaint accuses Cawthorn of gifting his cousin free travel in excess of $250. One of the trips, according to the complaint, includes Cawthorn’s honeymoon to Dubai. Cawthorn married Cristina Bayardelle shortly after becoming a member of Congress but announced in December that there were divorcing after eight months.
The complaint filed with the House Ethics Committee comes days after Cawthorn was cited April 26 for trying to get through airport security with a loaded gun at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
This was the second time Cawthorn has carried a weapon into an airport. The first was Feb. 13, 2021, at the Asheville airport.
On Tuesday, Cawthorn was carrying a loaded 9 mm gun in his carry-on bag. Agents with the Transportation Security Administration stopped him and called Charlotte-Mecklenburg police to respond. Officers gave Cawthorn a citation.
Cawthorn attended House votes Wednesday afternoon and repeatedly refused to answer questions from The News & Observer about the incident.
On Tuesday night, Cawthorn posted a video on social media saying he made it back through security without a gun being found and apologized for the incident.
But the situation prompted House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, to call on the sergeant-at-arms to completely ban guns from the Capitol complex and its grounds.
“In light of the disturbing news that a member was detained by police for a second time yesterday at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, after again trying to bring a loaded firearm onto a commercial flight, it is essential that we have a clear and unambiguous policy in place regarding gun safety at the Capitol Complex and grounds,” Hoyer wrote.
“This matter concerns the safety and well-being of every individual who serves in Congress, who serves in the legislative branch, who visits his or her representative’s office, who tours the historic U.S. Capitol, and who stands guard here as part of the U.S. Capitol Police or other law enforcement agency.”
Hoyer’s letter marks his third attempt since December to urge the sergeant-at-arms to ban guns from the properties.
The co-chairs of the House Committee on Homeland Security also sent a letter to TSA saying that Cawthorn’s two incidents should raise alarms that he is a “repeat offender” and that he should face the full extent of TSA’s enforcement.
The letter encourage TSA to pursue all appropriate action for repeat offenders, regardless of who they are. The letter names Cawthorn and asks whether he was treated any differently than other passengers when the gun was located.
It further requested information about how police handled Cawthorn’s case, including whether he is suspended from using TSA PreCheck, what regulatory action is being pursued and whether fines or penalties are being taken against him.
The letter also requested specific information regarding guns found at airports, criminal action taken against perpetrators and specifics about Charlotte’s airport.
Cawthorn has faced other troubles this year that included leaked photos of him wearing women’s lingerie on a cruise ship; driving while his license was revoked; claiming that his colleagues participate in orgies and do cocaine; and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug.”
Cawthorn posted a series of tweets Friday afternoon that read in part: “I can understand the establishment attacking those beliefs, but just digging stuff up from my early 20s to smear me is pathetic. A campaign based on nothing but slander and personal attacks is a campaign that lacks a true sense of how to save the country from the leftists.”
He added that he looked “damn good” in the lingerie.
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