Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who lost his primary last May following his allegations of congressional cocaine use and orgies, is getting his “I told you so” moment.
A lawsuit filed Sunday accuses North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R) of coercing a state government employee into having a sexual relationship that included “group sex with other individuals seeking Tim Moore’s political favor.”
The suit was filed by the employee’s husband, Scott Lassiter, who is seeking $200,000 in damages. According to Axios, North Carolina is one of only a few states that allows people to sue their spouse’s extramarital partners under an “alienation of affection“ statute.
Lassiter says his wife admitted to having the three-year-long affair, but “implored” him to let it continue so she wouldn’t lose her state-funded job.
Both Lassiter’s wife and Moore have denied the allegations in the suit.
“This is a baseless lawsuit from a troubled individual,” Moore told Axios through a spokesperson. “We will vigorously defend this action and pursue all available legal remedies.”
While the alleged scandal took place at the state, and not the federal, level, some people online noted that Cawthorn’s claims of politically charged group sex now didn’t seem so far-fetched after all.
Cawthorn said during an interview last year that he had seen people working to eradicate addiction in America using cocaine and condemned the sexual perversion he witnessed in Washington, which included invitations to “sexual get-togethers” from Republican lawmakers.
“And then you realize you’re asking you to come to an orgy,” he said.
Cawthorn’s remarks were swiftly criticized and denied by then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). McCarthy said Cawthorn admitted to exaggerating some of his claims, such as that his cocaine use allegation stemmed from seeing “maybe a staffer in a parking garage from 100 yards away.”
But Cawthorn never fully retracted his orgy accusation—and now, after news of Lassiter’s lawsuit broke—the internet seems to be taking his side.
“Credit where it’s due, Madison Cawthorn was honest about this one,” wrote one user on Twitter.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we now definitely know why Madison Cawthorn was shunned from the Republican Party,” wrote another.
Cawthorn has not commented publicly on the alleged scandal in his home state.
