House Ethics Committee probes Rep. Madison Cawthorn for cryptocurrency promotion, relationship with staffer

After the announcement, the price of the cryptocurrency rose by more than 75%.Read more of CNBC's politics coverage:Soon afterward, the Let's Go Brandon coin collapsed in price when NASCAR rejected its sponsorship deal with Brown.Around the same time that Tillis urged a probe of Cawthorn, the president of a political action committee filed an ethics complaint against him for allegedly failing to file financial disclosures of gifts and loans made to his scheduler, Stephen Smith.David Wheeler, president of the American Muckrakers PAC, also said in the complaint that, "Mr. Smith apparently lives with Rep. Cawthorn and various social media postings by them indicate a personal relationship between them, separate and apart from the professional relationship of employer and employee."Cawthorn's spokesperson has said that Smith is Cawthorn's cousin.The House Ethics Committee separately said Monday that on May 11 it voted against empaneling an investigative subcommittee to probe Cawthorn over misdemeanor charges for driving with a revoked license and speeding in North Carolina."Representative Cawthorn informed the Committee he has paid a fine to resolve one of the charges and intends to pay any fines associated with the remaining charges," the committee said in a report."The Committee believes that the handling of this matter by local authorities is sufficient given the facts of the matter," it added.Got a confidential news tip?