A timeline of NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s run-ins with the law, investigations
U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has places to go, and he goes fast.
The first-term Republican firebrand from Western North Carolina has racked up numerous speeding tickets in multiple states in the last few years, and he now faces criminal charges for his driving habits.
Additionally, two separate scandals have now led to an ethics investigation into Cawthorn by the U.S. House of Representatives, which was announced May 23, shortly after he lost his reelection bid in the May 17 GOP primary for the Western North Carolina district he represents.
As for his criminal issues, he’s charged with driving on a revoked license. If found guilty, someone can be convicted of a Class 3 misdemeanor. That’s the lowest level of legal trouble, punishable only by a fine or a few days in jail.
Flying has landed him in legal trouble too. Cawthorn was cited recently for attempting to bring a gun through security at an airport.
Cawthorn remains innocent until proven guilty.
Available court records don’t make clear why Cawthorn’s license was revoked in the first place, but he does have numerous previous traffic citations for speeding and tailgating. Licenses can be revoked for several reasons, one of which is too many points on someone’s license.
In addition to past and pending traffic issues in several Western North Carolina counties, Cawthorn also has tickets from Georgia near Atlanta, from Virginia near Washington and from South Carolina near Greenville.
Here are more details about the ethics investigations. That’s followed by a timeline of his traffic issues, according to public records from North Carolina and neighboring states. It’s possible that there are more tickets, either from other states or ones that didn’t show up in the records.
That’s followed by a timeline of incidents involving Cawthorn and weapons.
Cawthorn’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Ethics allegations
▪ Insider trading: On May 23, the House Committee on Ethics announced it had opened an investigation into allegations that Cawthorn engaged in insider trading, related to his investment in a politically themed cryptocurrency targeted at conservatives. Although the House is led by a Democratic majority, it was a fellow Republican — North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis — who first called for Cawthorn to be investigated for insider trading, The News & Observer reported in April 2022.
▪ Inappropriate relationship with a staffer: In addition to the insider trading allegations, Cawthorn is also being investigated over whether he broke congressional rules regarding inappropriate relationships with staffers. The committee didn’t say who the staffer in question was, but an ethics complaint by a political opponent had targeted Cawthorn over payments to his scheduler, who is also his cousin. Stephen Smith worked in his Washington office and for his campaign, and the two use the same home address. The ethics complaint accused Cawthorn of providing Smith with free housing and travel and failing to disclose loans and gifts; WRAL reported that Cawthorn paid Smith $141,000 from congressional and campaign funds since 2020. Smith was also shown with Cawthorn in a suggestive video, one of several photos and videos that emerged in what Cawthorn called a “drip campaign” by his Republican opponents.
Cawthorn’s chief of staff, Blake Harp, told CNBC: “We welcome the opportunity to prove that Congressman Cawthorn committed no wrongdoing and that he was falsely accused by partisan adversaries for political gain.”
Madison Cawthorn traffic tickets
▪ Oct. 13, 2011, Henderson County, NC: speeding. Case disposed Jan. 25, 2012. Pleaded guilty to a lesser speed and paid fine of $40.
▪ Feb. 27, 2016, Henderson County, NC: speeding and expired registration card/tag. Case disposed May 18, 2016. Pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of failure to wear seat belt in rear seat and paid fine of $75. The expired registration card/tag charge was dismissed.
▪ April 21, 2016, South Carolina: speeding ticket for going more than 25 mph over the speed limit. Pleaded down to a 10-miles-over violation in July 2016.
▪ Oct. 7, 2016, Virginia: ticket for following too close. Case resolved Jan. 27, 2017.
▪ Dec. 8, 2017, Buncombe County, NC: driving while license revoked, not impaired. Case was dismissed Dec. 29, 2017.
▪ Dec. 12, 2019, Georgia: speeding ticket for going more than 25 mph over the speed limit and having expired tags, followed by a charge of failure to appear on Feb. 7, 2020. Plea deal negotiated in August 2021.
▪ Oct. 18, 2021, Buncombe County, NC: speeding. Case disposed March 4, 2022. Pleaded guilty to improper equipment. Paid fine of $25.
▪ Jan. 8, 2022, Polk County, NC: speeding, for traveling 87 mph in a 70 mph. Court date is June 2.
▪ March 3, 2022, Cleveland County, NC: driving while license revoked, not impaired. Court date is May 6.
Firearms and weapons incidents
In addition to the traffic violations, Cawthorn has also been involved in several incidents related to weapons.
▪ Jan. 6, 2021, Washington, D.C.: Cawthorn claimed he went to Congress armed, The Asheville Citizen-Times reported, on the day a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol building to attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
▪ Feb. 13, 2021, Asheville: Airport security stopped Cawthorn for attempting to board a plane with a Glock 9 mm handgun and a loaded magazine, The News & Observer previously reported. Cawthorn was not charged, and security held onto the weapon for him to pick up when he got back from his flight.
▪ 2021, Multiple incidents: As Cawthorn visited school facilities around the state, he was accused of bringing a knife to at least four of those visits. There are several state laws with various levels of crimes related to knives on school property, the Citizen-Times reported, but Cawthorn has not been charged with any crimes for the incidents.
▪ April 26, 2022, Charlotte: Cawthorn was again accused of trying to go through airport security with a loaded gun, this time at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers took away his gun and issued him a citation, The Charlotte Observer reported, since it’s a violation of city ordinances to have a loaded gun at the airport. He has a court date set for Oct. 18, WLOS-TV reported.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 5:24 PM with the headline "A timeline of NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s run-ins with the law, investigations."
