BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls leaked nude tape ‘blackmail’

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., leaves a House Republican Conference strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(The Hill) — Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) has called a nude videotape leak of him that recently surfaced online “blackmail,” saying he won’t back down after the “hit against me.”

The North Carolina lawmaker in a tweet acknowledged that the video was authentic and said that he was joking around with a friend.

“A new hit against me just dropped. Years ago, in this video, I was being crass with a friend, trying to be funny. We were acting foolish, and joking,” Cawthorn wrote in his tweet. “That’s it.”

“I’m NOT backing down. I told you there would be a drip drip campaign,” Cawthorn continued in the tweet. “Blackmail won’t win. We will.” 

The comments from the freshman lawmaker come after the American Muckrakers PAC, an opposition group campaigning against Cawthorn, said they posted the video after receiving it from an anonymous source who said they used to be a Cawthorn donor.

“Madison Cawthorn should resign from Congress today. While his sexual orientation or behavior behind closed doors is no interest whatsoever to us, his actions should have consequences,” Muckrakers PAC President David B. Wheeler said in a statement on the posting of the video.  

“Ask him for any of this information. We do not know those details. We do know Rep. Cawthorn shouldn’t be in Congress regardless of when this video was taken. We don’t have any further comment at this time.”

Cawthorn’s response made reference to previous comments he made in an Instagram post where he said that the “establishment” would be launching a coordinated “drip campaign” against him.

“They’re going to drop an attack article every one or two days just to try and kill us with a death by 1,000 cuts, and that is really their main strategy,” Cawthorn, 26, said late Tuesday night on Instagram.

The video’s release comes as Cawthorn, who is up for reelection in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district, has faced multiple controversies and faced rebuke from fellow GOP members of Congress.

The 26-year-old recently received backlash from fellow Republicans after making a claim in a radio interview that lawmakers had invited him to orgies and cocaine parties. He was also accused by a former congressional staffer of improperly firing her after she denied medical and family leave.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that Cawthorn had to “turn himself around.”

Cawthorn, who also recently had photos leaked of him wearing women’s lingerie at a party, was cited last month for attempting to bring a loaded firearm through security at a Charlotte, N.C. area airport. 

Politics

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Mostly Cloudy

la

52°F Mostly Cloudy Feels like 52°
Wind
0 mph NE
Humidity
83%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
50°F Cloudy skies. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NE
Precip
3%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Last Quarter