Madison Cawthorn, Republican Representative from the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina, made headlines with bold claims about alleged sexual perversions at the Capitol. The comments were publicly denounced by his several Republican colleagues, including the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Mr. Cawthorn was previously known for his controversial statements about the legality of the 2020 elections and the state of the War in Ukraine.
Mr. Cawthorn is currently the youngest representative in the United States Congress. The 26-year old is an active voice in contemporary political discourse, and often takes controversial positions in his areas of interest. Last week, the young congressman was invited on the “Warrior Poet Society” podcast to discuss his experiences in Washington, D.C. When asked about the popular Netflix show House of Cards’ depiction of the political elite society, Cawthorn made bold allegations about witnessing sexual orgies and free use of narcotics, among others. Most notably, he did not give a single name of the supposed offenders.[1] The claims seemingly confirmed the QAnon narrative of widespread child abuse and a degenerate culture at the high levels of Washington.[2]
The unsubstantiated claims immediately stirred controversy, and were discussed in a closed-door House GOP meeting this Tuesday. As the bold claims had come without any official statement or evidence presented, the senior Republicans representatives at the meeting called for an answer. Most notably, Steve Womack, a representative from Arkansas who generally avoids the spotlight, expressed his reservations about the allegations, stating that it was wrong to generalize the behavior of the congressmen and that he had personally faced uncomfortable questions from the press due to the incident.[3] Later, Republican Senator from North Carolina, Thom Tillis aptly remarked: “I thought about the statement. If it’s true, then he’s got a lot of information to reveal. If it’s not true, then he’s guilty of being untruthful”.[4]
The newly-elect representative was called for questions Wednesday, where the Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy gave him one of his notorious ‘stern talks’ about appropriate conduct in Congress. Mr. McCarthy noted that the young politician had failed to produce any evidence of his claims, and warned that he would have to ‘earn’ back the trust of his seniors.[5] When repeatedly pressed about his claims, Cawthorn argued that he had witnessed “Maybe a staffer in a parking garage, maybe 100 yards away”.[6]
Mr. Cawthorn was also previously known for his controversial statements about alleged voter fraud in the election of President Joe Biden – claims that have been repeatedly debunked by authentic sources with wide-ranging political affiliation. Earlier this month, he caught media attention by labelling the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky – who has been bravely fighting off a Russian invasion since February 24 – a ‘thug’ and his government ‘incredibly evil’.[7]
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/30/house-republican-leaders-meet-with-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-comments-about-orgy-invitation-drug-use/.
[2] https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/03/madison-cawthorn-orgies-cocaine-kevin-mccarthy.html.
[3] https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/03-29-2022/cawthorns-orgy-claim-fallout/.
[4] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/30/politics/madison-cawthorn-orgy-cocaine-claim-response/.
[5] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/kevin-mccarthy-says-rebuked-madison-cawthorn-orgy-tale-rcna22274.
[6] https://www.newsweek.com/madison-cawthorn-admits-kevin-mccarthy-orgy-claim-exaggerated-1693518?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.
[7] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/madison-cawthorn-volodymyr-zelensky-comments/index.html.
