A former staffer for Representative Madison Cawthorn said in a leaked recording that she filed an employment-related complaint against the North Carolina Republican, the Smoky Mountain News reported.
Lisa Wiggins told the director of the political action committee American Muckrackers, more commonly known as Fire Madison Cawthorn PAC, about the complaint in a recorded call. David Wheeler, who co-founded the PAC, said he did so because he did not realize how much information she would provide.
Mr Cawthorn, the controversial pro-Trump first-term congressman, has denied the allegations through his spokesman.
Ms Wiggins apparently alleged that Mr Cawthorn had violated the Family and Medical Leave Act when she was denied leave when her husband had a heart attack and her uncle died within the same week. She said that Mr Cawthorn had also abandoned his district offices and used call forwarding for his constituency calls.
“I know that because I drove and closed them all,” she said. “He didn’t have enough caseworkers to man them. He didn’t care, he doesn’t care about his constituents. He does not care.”
The comments corroborate what others told The Independent earlier this month about how Mr Cawthorn closed his constituency offices as he sought to move to another district before he ultimately decided to run in his old district.
She also alleged that there were more liquor bottles than water bottles in the office and that she hadn’t seen the congressman since October.
“As far as the candidate himself, I mean, he’s just a bad person. He’s a habitual liar and he’s going to say and do anything he can to your face but behind your back he’s completely opposite,” she said. “There’s some good stories I have – a lot of good stories.”
She reportedly added: “People need to know how this man really is. He’s still got a lot of people fooled.”
Ms Wiggins reportedly supports one of Mr Cawthorn’s primary opponents, retired Army Colonel Rod Honeycutt. Mr Cawthorn faces a crowded primary and needs to win more than 30 per cent of the vote to avoid a runoff race.
“The main goal here is that he does not get that 30 plus 1,” she said. ““I don’t feel like he’s gonna get it. I just don’t feel like he’s gonna run away with it on May 17.”
Ms Wiggins would need to have her complaint handled by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
The Smoky Mountain News reported that the OCWR would not confirm or deny the existence of such a complaint.
Luke Ball, Mr Cawthorn’s spokesman, vehemently denied the allegations.
“These accusations are verifiably false. The individual spreading these disgusting allegations is currently working for a primary opponent of Congressman Cawthorn,” he said in an emailed statement.
“We believe these comments potentially amount to defamation of character, and are exploring options to ensure the Congressman’s name emerges from these slanderous remarks unscathed.”
