A conservative newspaper claims that Congressman Madison Cawthorn may have implicated himself in an insider trading scheme.
In response, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) wants the government to investigate Cawthorn for potentially violating the STOCK Act.
And he’s not alone.
Tillis’ tweet follows a report by the Washington Examiner that detailed how Cawthorn may have broken the law by allegedly engaging in a pump-and-dump cryptocurrency scheme.
The controversy emerged after Cawthorn posted pictures of himself at a party alongside James Koutoulas, a hedge fund manager behind the “Let’s Go Brandon” cryptocurrency, or LGBCoin.
“LGB legends. … Tomorrow we go to the moon,” Cawthorn posted on Instagram in response to a photo from the same event on Koutoulas’ account.
The following day, the stock did precisely that.
The Washington Examiner’s Andrew Kerr reports:
NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announced on Dec. 30 that the meme coin would be the primary sponsor of his 2022 season, causing LGBCoin’s value to spike by 75%. Brown’s statement featured comments from Koutoulas, who was pictured with Cawthorn just a few hours prior.
Multiple watchdog groups told the Washington Examiner that Cawthorn’s Dec. 29 Instagram post suggests the lawmaker may have had advanced nonpublic knowledge of LGBCoin’s deal with Brown. The watchdogs said the post, combined with Cawthorn’s statement that he owns LGBCoin, warrants an investigation from the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether the lawmaker violated federal insider trading laws.
“This looks really, really bad,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, the government affairs manager for Project on Government Oversight, a federal watchdog group. “This does look like a classic case of you got some insider information and acting on that information. And that’s illegal.”
“I think there’s probably a strong case here,” Hedtler-Gaudette added. “I don’t want to prejudge, but based on everything that’s out there, I think there is a very strong possibility that if someone is going to investigate this, they’re going to find something.”
Kerr interviewed Craig Holman, a lobbyist with the consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen. Holman said Cawthorn could face prison time if he purchased LGBCoin with nonpublic knowledge of Brown’s sponsorship deal before Dec. 30.
LGBCoin’s value rose to $570 million following Brown’s announcement. One month later, the digital coins were worthless.
Koutoulas blamed the stunning decline on two factors: NASCAR rejecting Brown’s deal with LGBCoin and unknown insiders who held a significant portion of LGBCoin shares dumping their stock for “substantial profit.”
A Missouri investor has since filed a class-action lawsuit against LGBCoin for allegedly engaging in a pump and dump scheme.
Although their suit doesn’t list Cawthorn as a defendant, it claims Koutoulas used the famous congressman’s endorsement to inflate LGBCoin’s stock price.
Koutoulas relaunched LGBCoin in February. LGBCoin’s website features the following disclaimer:
“Let’s Go Brandon has no intrinsic value, and you should not purchase it with any expectation that you will be able to resell it. Please do not spend money that you cannot afford.”
Whether or not an investigation by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission to determine if Cawthorn broke the law remains a matter of speculation.
In the meantime, Cawthorn hasn’t wasted any time responding to the “shenanigans,” as he recently called them.
In an Instagram video, the 26-year-old Member of Congress accused the Republican establishment “and the RINOs” of orchestrating a coordinated smear campaign against him. He said supporters should expect a steady stream of attack articles against him as North Carolina’s May 17 statewide primary nears.
Cawthorn added that he makes “no apologies” for what he does. Today, he continued his counteroffensive without addressing the charges directly.
Let us know what you think of Madison Cawthorn in the comments below and while you’re at it, tell us if you believe fellow Republicans are trying to derail his reelection campaign three weeks before his primary!
Patrick Houck is an avid political enthusiast based out of the Washington, D.C., metro area. His expertise is in campaigns and the use of targeted messaging to persuade voters. When not combing through the latest news, you can find him enjoying the company of family and friends or pursuing his love of photography.
I don’t recall Tillis carrying on like this over Richard Burr.
And what about pelosi? You know, Martha Stewart went to the joint for the same things pelosi is/has done.
Really???? Nancy Pelosi rides free reign in her insider trading & bupkis is done about that. This is just the RINO’S RUSE to do smear an America First canidate. It’s not the first shot at it either. VOTE THE RINO’S OUT!!!!!!!!??????????
The old RINO’S are after CAWTHORN! Who has challenge them! Making such accusations on what “appears” to be an inside trading of the Lets Go Brandon Coin does not mean he did it! Maybe he did make a trade but doesn’t mean its an insider trade like Nancy Pelosi tipped her husband to make and have become very wealthy from this inside trader “repeated practice” I say go after the repeated offerors the “big fish” and investigate! Otherwise, the Rino swamp is hard to drain and sounds like a smear on Cawthorn! The Rino’s just want to go after the “young effective congress” persons! Some of those turncoat Rino’s will be removed in the next Election! Instead, of picking on effective young congress man I don’t see how these Rino’s at this time are making America great AGAIN! There are bigger problems like a mentally cognitive declining Biden! Focus on him who actually is a “real” big National Security problem around the “world”!
Why do the republicans have to always show their ” dirty laundry ” in public by going after one of their own, in
public?
Amazing!
If there is anyone in politics more despicable than Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, I certainly don’t know them. They vote and support every liberal bill the Democrats recommend. They target any “Real Conservative” who threatens their “good old boy gravy train”. They are a disgrace to North Carolina and the nation.
Len Tippett