(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) Piling on a relentless smear campaign that contributed to the primary election downfall of Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., the DC Swamp has unleashed a dual-track attack on the congressman, along with targeting two of his pro-liberty GOP colleagues.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Cawthorn had a conflict of interest in a cryptocurrency he promoted and that he engaged in an improper relationship with a member of his staff.
At the same time, the allegedly non-partisan Office of Congressional Ethics opined that Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, misused campaign finances for personal benefit, and that Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., received impermissible gifts under House rules and provided false testimony.
All three Republicans have vigorously denied the allegations, and portrayed them as political hit jobs.
The Cawthorn investigation comes on the heels of a media and political campaign targeting Cawthorn, who has repeatedly claimed that leftists and establishment swamp Republicans are responsible for the attacks.
Along with the allegations now under investigation, Cawthorn was subjected to damaging releases of compromising videos and photos, a leaked podcast where he alleged cocaine-fuled DC orgies, along with dual incidents of carrying guns into an airport and prior citations for speeding and driving with a revoked license.
Cawthorn said he has learned from those errors, which he attributed to youthful indiscretions, and has vowed to fight what he called a drip-drip smear campaign against someone willing to take on the establishment.
“I am on a mission now to expose those who say and promise one thing yet legislate and work towards another, self-profiteering, globalist goal,” Cawthorn posted after his primary loss.
He didn’t back down after the House ethics committee investigation was announced.
Wow- I must still be a problem for the swamp! 👀
They’re still coming after me!
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) May 23, 2022
In Jackson’s case, the ethics office alleged that his campaign committee paid $5,907.13 to the Amarillo Club, a private social club in Texas, reported The Hill. The money went toward dues, fees, meals and other services, according to the OCE report.
“Neither Congressman Jackson nor any members of his family have utilized any benefits of the Amarillo Club other than dining and meeting spaces for campaign purposes,” said Justin Clark, whose firm represents Jackson.
“Accordingly, all expenses at issue were made by Texans for Ronny Jackson for campaign purposes,” Clark said.
West Virginia’s Mooney, who won an impressive primary victory with an America First message and a Trump endorsement, is alleged to have “accepted a free or below-market-value trip to Aruba, as well as free lodging and event space from a company that provides services to his campaign committee,” with expenses totaling nearly $11,000, and “may have offered false testimony and altered his calendar in order to conceal wrongdoing.”
Mooney denied the allegations and said the investigation “was tainted from the outset by the OCE’s procedural irregularities and denial of due process” and that the report contains “plainly wrong legal conclusions,” according to Roll Call.
There was “no improper connection between any gift and any official action by the Congressman” regarding the Aruba trip, the statement said.
“Congressman Mooney flatly rejects the OCE’s allegations of evidence tampering and false statements.”
