Newly leaked footage of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) is making people believe his claim that other members of Congress invited him to orgies and used cocaine in front of him.
Many believe the GOP is punishing Cawthorn for making these claims in late March. A leaked video of a nude Cawthorn thrusting his pelvis into another man’s face is the latest scandal to embroil the freshman congressman since he talked about cocaine use and orgies on a podcast.
This week, a political action campaign (PAC) dedicated to unseating Cawthorn released the video of Cawthorn “dry humping someone’s head and moaning loudly.” American Muckrakers PAC claims that a former Cawthorn supporter and donor gave it the video.
The undated video appears to have been filmed in a hotel room. In it, Cawthorn laughs and makes guttural noises as he thrusts his pelvis into a man’s face. The man, as well as the others in the room, have not been identified.
Cawthorn downplayed the significance of the footage and said that it was released to smear him.
“Years ago, in this video, I was being crass with a friend, trying to be funny. We were acting foolish, and joking. That’s it,” Cawthorn tweeted Wednesday evening. “I’m NOT backing down. I told you there would be a drip drip campaign. Blackmail won’t win.”
While Cawthorn’s penchant for honesty has been questioned, in this instance, people believe him and feel he’s being punished for revealing an unflattering truth about politicians.
The video is just the latest scandal to engulf Cawthorn. Last month, images surfaced of him wearing women’s lingerie at a cruise ship event.
“The unending barrage of leaks against Madison Cawthorn make me much less skeptical of the reality of the coke-fueled orgies,” tweeted @HeerJeet. “I mean the GOP really wants to destroy this man.”
Some far-right figures believe that the Republican Party is eating one of its own as payback. “Hit pieces against Madison Cawthorn basically proves that the [Washington] D.C. coke orgies he exposed are real,” white nationalist Nick Fuentes wrote on Telegram.
Some who assume that Republicans are behind the leaked lingerie images and “thrusting” video wonder what else it has on its members.
Cawthorn is facing a primary challenge from Republican Chuck Edwards.
