Madison Cawthorn has labelled a recently leaked videotape in which he can be seen naked as “blackmail,” stating that he will not back down after the “hit against me.”
In a tweet, the North Carolina lawmaker acknowledged that the video was genuine and stated that he was joking around with a friend.
“A new hit has been delivered against me. Years ago, in this video, I was trying to be funny by being crass with a friend. “We were joking and acting foolish,” Cawthron wrote in his tweet. “That’s all.”
“I’m NOT backing down. I told you there would be a drip drip campaign,” Cawthorn continued in the tweet. “Blackmail won’t win. We will.”
The remarks by the first-term lawmaker come after the American Muckrakers PAC, an opposition group campaigning against Cawthorn, said they posted the video after receiving it from an anonymous source who claimed to have been a Cawthorn donor in the past.
“Madison Cawthorn should resign from Congress today. While his sexual orientation or behavior behind closed doors is no interest whatsoever to us, his actions should have consequences,” Muckrakers PAC President David B. Wheeler said.
