Cawthorn Says D.C. Elite Invited Him to 'Orgy,' Did Cocaine in Front of Him

Representative Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican, said in a recent interview that leaders that he "looked up to" in Washington, DC, had invited him to an "orgy" and did cocaine in front him.

Cawthorn, 26, is a freshman congressman and is currently the youngest member of Congress. He has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike for some of his controversial views during his tenure serving the people of North Carolina. The staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump made the remarks about the "orgy" and drug use during an interview, which was first broadcast on Thursday with Warrior Poet Society hosted by John Lovell.

In the interview, Lovell asked the congressman about the popular Netflix series House of Cards, which had six seasons from 2013 to 2018 and starred actors Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. The fictitious show featured the story of a corrupt politician and his wife as they blackmailed and clawed their way to greater and greater power in the nation's Capitol. Lovell asked him if the show is an accurate representation of how DC operates.

"I heard a former president that we had in the '90s was asked a question about this. And he gave an answer that I thought was so true. He said that the only thing not accurate in that show—that you could never get a piece of legislation about education passed that quickly," Cawthorn responded.

The GOP congressman went on to share anecdotes about interactions he has had since coming to the Capitol.

"The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington, I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, average age is probably 60 or 70," Cawthorn said, "I look at a lot of these people, a lot of them that I've looked up to through my life—I've always paid attention to politics—then all of a sudden you get invited to, 'Oh hey we're going to have a sexual get together at one of our homes, you should come.'"

Cawthorn then put on a shocked expression, saying his response was, "'What did you just ask me to come to?' And then you realize they're asking you to come to an orgy." The Republican lawmaker also said that "some of the people who are leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our county" have done "a key bump of cocaine" right in front of him.

The North Carolina representative did not provide names or clarify whether these interactions were with elected members of Congress or other officials and aides working in DC. Newsweek reached out to Cawthorn's press secretary for further details, but did not immediately receive a response.

Cawthorn's reference to a former president discussing House of Cards appears to be about a 2015 interview Spacey did with Gotham Magazine. The actor said at the time that he and former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, are friends and played poker together. Spacey said that Clinton told him the show was largely accurate and that he enjoyed it.

"Kevin, 99 percent of what you do on that show is real. The 1 percent you get wrong is you could never get an education bill passed that fast," Clinton told Spacey, according to the actor's comments to the magazine.

Cawthorn recently drew significant backlash for remarks he made about Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian government. At a North Carolina event earlier this month, he called Zelensky a "thug" and his government "incredibly evil" shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country.

Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, dubbed Cawthorn a member of the "Putin wing of the GOP." Congressman Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, slammed him for "echoing Putin propaganda."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said publicly that Cawthorn was "wrong."

"Madison is wrong," he said on March 18. "If there's any thug in this world it's [Vladimir] Putin." He also told reporters that he has spoken to the GOP congressman about the controversial remarks.

After video of Cawthorn's Ukraine remarks circulated, he posted to Twitter and strongly criticized Putin and Russia's invasion. His press secretary Luke Ball also told Newsweek at the time that the congressman "supports Ukraine and the Ukrainian president's efforts to defend their country against Russian aggression, but does not want America drawn into another conflict through emotional manipulation."