From Staff Reports

U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Hendersonville, who recently was charged with speeding, consented to a lesser charge of “improper equipment, speedometer,” on March 4, according to Buncombe County court records.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol had charged Cawthorn with driving 89 miles per hour — 24 miles per hour over the posted speed limit — on Interstate 40 near Swannanoa around 1 p.m. Oct. 18.

Following the reduction in the aforementioned charge, Cawthorn still has two driver-related charges pending.

His second speeding ticket charge is for driving 87 miles per hour in a 70-mph zone around 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 on U.S. 74 in Polk County.

What’s more, Cawthorn has been charged with driving with a revoked license on the heels of two significant speeding tickets over the past six months.

It is the second time that Cawthorn has been charged with driving while his license was revoked, with the second predating his time in office.

Around 10:30 p.m. March 3, Cawthorn was charged with a misdemeanor for driving while his license was revoked, as a Highway Patrol trooper initially pulled Cawthorn over for crossing the centerline, and then discovered his license was revoked, according to highway patrol documentation.

“Our office expects the traffic matters to be resolved quickly, and we remain focused on serving the constituents of NC-11,” Cawthorn spokesperson Luke Ball said in a media statement.

Cawthorn’s prior charge of driving with a revoked license in 2017 in Buncombe County was dismissed in court.

Why Cawthorn’s license was revoked — or when — is not public information, according to a report in the Waynesville Mountaineer.

“It is not within the purview of the N.C. Highway Patrol, but is rather a Department of Motor Vehicles issue,” the Mountaineer noted. “The DMV cannot release personal motor vehicle records, per the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act.”

However, it is known that alcohol was not involved in the Cawthorn case, the the newspaper reported.

“Charges of driving with a revoked license stipulate whether a DUI had been the underlying reason for the revoked license — and in Cawthorn’s case it was not,” the Mountaineer stated.