Why Rep. Madison Cawthorn Is Being Sued For Over $190K By His Own Lawyers

Embattled North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn is once again in hot water. The politician is now facing a lawsuit from his lawyers, according to a Queen City News report.

The Bopp Law Firm, based in Indiana, filed a lawsuit against Cawthorn on Dec. 1 accusing the representative of failing to pay $193,296.85 in legal fees and costs. Cawthorn employed the firm during his 2022 North Carolina Primary where he faced legal challenges to his candidacy.

Cawthorn would go on to beat the challenges, centered on his involvement in a rally leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, but would lose the primary election to Sen. Chuck Edwards.

Now, the lawyers who represented Cawthorn throughout his struggles are saying he owes them payment.

ABC affiliate WLOS reports that Bopp firm lawyers are suing Cawthorn for a breach of contract, claiming the representative agreed to pay them for their services but has since ignored invoices and avoided contact.

The question over Cawthorn's candidacy arose after voters in North Carolina's 11th District challenged the congressman, citing Section 3 of the 14th amendment, designed to prevent congressmen who had fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War from returning to Congress.

Voters in the district argued that Cawthorn's involvement in the rally rose to the level of Confederate soldiers, disqualifying him from Congress.

In March, a U.S. District Judge ruled in Cawthorn's favor and prevented the North Carolina State Board of Election from looking into whether he should be on the Republican ballot for the primary in May.

The voters appealed the ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. The appeals court ultimately reversed the ruling and sent the case back to the district court.

Cawthorn has made headlines before, bursting into Congress as the first member born in the 1990s. He also has a long history of legal troubles. He has been cited multiple times for speeding violations, was cited for attempting to bring a loaded gun through TSA at a Charlotte airport in April, and was investigated by the House Ethics Committee for claims he financially benefitted from the promotion of a cryptocurrency that violated conflict of interest rules.