World enews: House Ethics Committee investigating cryptocurrency and sex allegations against Madison Cawthorn

The House ethics committee has opened an investigation into claims that North Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn committed insider trading and engaged in a sexual relationship with a male staff member in violation of House ethics rules.

In a statement, ethics committee chairman Ted Deutch and raking member Jackie Walorski said the ten-member panel had “unanimously voted” to begin the investigation, which is focused on “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest, and engaged in an improper relationship with an individual employed on his congressional staff”.

Mr Deutch and Ms Walorski added that the panel had commissioned a subcommittee to investigate the claims chaired by Texas Representative Veronica Escobar of Texas, a Democrat, with Republican Representative Michael Guest of Mississippi serving as ranking member. Delaware Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat, and Republican Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota will also serve on the subcommittee.

The investigation appears to be centered around two separate sets of allegations regarding Mr Cawthorn, who earlier this month lost his bid to run for re-election in his district on the GOP ballot line.

Multiple watchdog groups have accused Mr Cawthorn of engaging in insider trading by promoting a cryptocurrency known as the “Let’s Go Brandon” coin, named for an epithet popular among conservatives who understand it to mean “F**k Joe Biden”.

Mr Cawthorn tweeted about the cryptocurrency on 29 December, just one day before Nascar driver Brandon Brown announced that “LGBCoin” would be his car’s primary sponsor for the 2022 racing season.

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