GOP Congressman Cawthorn Accused of ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Crypto Pump-and-Dump

In her short time in Congress, firebrand Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has been embroiled in a controversy that involves everything from lying about biographies to abusing staff to partying in lingerie. Now, Cawthorn could add the alleged crypto fraud to his resume.

On Tuesday, at Washington Examiner reported that some watchdog groups have accused Cawthorn of colluding in a crypto pump-and-dump scheme involving the short-lived Let’s Go Brandon cryptocurrency, known as LGB.

“LGB legends. … Tomorrow we go to the moon!” Cawthorn posted on Instagram in late December, a day before the value of the currency rose after NASCAR drivers said the LGB would be the main sponsor.

The driver, Brandon Brown, became famous last year for his association with “Let’s Go Brandon,” which has become a code among Republicans to insult President Biden.

The buzz around the NASCAR announcement led to LGB soar 75% and briefly achieved a $ 570 million market cap.

But by the end of January, meme coins had become useless after NASCAR rejected sponsorship arrangements and once it became known that insiders had acquired the majority of the coins in circulation and then shortly threw them all — a pump-and-dump classic.

If Cawthorn is one of the insiders, he may be involved in an illegal scheme.

Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for the advocacy group Public Citizen, told Washington Examiner if, however, Cawthorn buys LGBCoin before Dec. 30 and learns about the NASCAR news, that would be insider trading, a federal crime that could involve jail time.

Cawthorn, who continues to promote LGB coins at campaign events, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The crypto controversy came weeks after Cawthorn angered his fellow Republicans by claiming without evidence that members of Congress had invited him to participate in a cocaine bribery party.

The youngest member of Congress, Cawthorn, 26, was first elected to North Carolina’s conservative district in November 2020. He gave no sign that he was going to step down in response to a wave of scandal, even though his behavior has triggered it. some Republicans to Mount the primary challenge.

And the conversation around Cawthorn hasn’t diminished. As Jonathan Chait from New York the magazine observed in Tuesday’s headline, “Madison Cawthorn Tries to Make Every Scandal Possible.”

Cawthorn is hardly the only Republican tied to a questionable crypto project. Others include pundit Candace Owens and Trump youth group leader Ryan Fournier, both of whom have discontinued LGBCoin and whose affiliation is called FJB.