Cawthorn gave cousin $141K in campaign and taxpayer funds, records show

A relative and close adviser to U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has pocketed more than $141,000 from taxpayers and campaign donors since 2020, according to congressional and campaign payroll records.

The documents also show a roughly eight-month period during which the 26-year-old North Carolina congressman paid Stephen Smith, his second cousin, simultaneously from Cawthorn’s congressional office and campaign. The payments were addressed to Smith at a Hendersonville address. The address matches that of Cawthorn’s, state voter registration records show.

U.S. House members are prohibited from hiring immediate family members, such as first cousins. But the requirement doesn’t extend to second cousins. Nonetheless, the payments sharpen the focus on the nature of the relationship between Cawthorn and Smith and raise questions from political observers about the perception of family self-dealing.