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In a March 2022 interview, Cawthorn talked about "the sexual perversion that goes on in Washington" and said he had been invited to an orgy by an unnamed lawmaker. He also claimed that prominent Washington figures had used cocaine in front of him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/30/house-republican-leaders-meet-with-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-comments-about-orgy-invitation-drug-use/|title=McCarthy: Cawthorn 'did not tell the truth' about orgy, drug claims|last=Sonmez|first=Felicia|date=March 30, 2022|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 30, 2022|archive-date=March 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331073904/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/30/house-republican-leaders-meet-with-rep-madison-cawthorn-after-comments-about-orgy-invitation-drug-use/|url-status=live}}</ref> In a closed-door meeting, multiple House Republicans complained about his comments.<ref name="NYT2022-03-30" /> Members of the [[Freedom Caucus]] considered ejecting Cawthorn from its membership.<ref name="Politico2022-03-29">{{Cite news |last=Beavers |first=Olivia |date=March 29, 2022 |title=Cawthorn's orgies-and-drugs comment stirs trouble within Freedom Caucus |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/cawthorn-orgies-freedom-caucus-00021548 |access-date=July 13, 2022 |work=[[Politico]] |language=en}}</ref> House Minority Leader [[Kevin McCarthy]] and Minority Whip [[Steve Scalise]] then met with Cawthorn.<ref name="NYT2022-03-30">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-congress.html|title=House Republicans Tire of Madison Cawthorn's Antics. Some in His District Have, Too.|last=Gabriel|first=Trip|date=March 30, 2022|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 30, 2022|archive-date=March 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330231216/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/us/politics/madison-cawthorn-congress.html|url-status=live}}</ref> McCarthy later told reporters that Cawthorn had admitted his claims were exaggerated or untrue: "He changes what he tells and that's not becoming of a congressman. He did not tell the truth [and] that's unacceptable." McCarthy said he had told Cawthorn that "He's lost my trust. He's going to have to earn it back."<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Rep. Madison Cawthorn admits lying about cocaine and orgies after tongue-lashing from GOP leaders |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/rep-madison-cawthorn-admits-lying-about-cocaine-and-orgies-after-tongue-lashing-from-gop-leaders/ |access-date=March 30, 2022 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331163241/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/rep-madison-cawthorn-admits-lying-about-cocaine-and-orgies-after-tongue-lashing-from-gop-leaders/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
In April 2022, American Muckrakers PAC requested an ethics investigation of Cawthorn's relationship with his aide Stephen Smith,<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Rebecca |date=April 29, 2022 |title=Group seeks ethics investigation into Madison Cawthorn |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madison-cawthorn-ethics-investigation-sought/ |access-date=April 30, 2022 |work=[[CBS News]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Cawthorn's [[second cousin]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Emily |title=Cawthorn hit with new ethics complaint filed by rival PAC |url=https://thehill.com/news/house/3472113-cawthorn-hit-with-new-ethics-complaint-filed-by-rival-pac/ |access-date=April 30, 2022 |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=April 29, 2022 |quote=Cawthorn's scheduler, Stephen Smith, is his distant cousin. Cawthorn described Smith as "the grandson of my grandmother's sister" in a 2017 deposition...}}</ref> The request said that Cawthorn had provided more than $250 worth of free housing and travel to Smith
In May 2022, ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' reported that Blake Harp, Cawthorn's chief of staff, who was paid $131,278 in that position in 2021, also received $73,237 in that year from Cawthorn's campaign, despite House ethics rules that limit senior staff to earning $29,595 in outside income each year. Harp has also received payments from the campaign committee of Harp's mother, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sollenberger |first=Roger |date=May 5, 2022 |title=Madison Cawthorn May Have a New Ethics Violation to Handle |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/madison-cawthorn-may-have-a-new-ethics-violation-to-handle |access-date=May 12, 2022}}</ref> Harp was Cawthorn's campaign manager in 2020, becoming chief of staff in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fieldler |first=Tom |date=May 11, 2022 |title=The fall and rise and fall of Madison Cawthorn |url=https://www.themountaineer.com/news/the-fall-and-rise-and-fall-of-madison-cawthorn/article_e114d400-d125-11ec-b884-ab019bf2923b.html |access-date=May 12, 2022 |website=[[The Mountaineer]] |language=en}}</ref>
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