A top House Democrat has launched an investigation of US President Donald Trump’s private dinner with investors of his official TRUMP memecoin. A week after the controversial event, the House Representative seeks to shed light on some of the ethical and legal concerns raised by several Democrats.
Probe Into Trump’s Memecoin Dinner Guests
On Wednesday night, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jamie Raskin, demanded that President Trump share the names of the guests who attended his private memecoin gala last week.
In a letter reviewed by The Washington Post, the congressman urged Trump to disclose several concerns regarding the identity of the dinner attendees and the origin of the millions invested in the president’s memecoin.
In April, it was announced that the top 220 TRUMP holders on the memecoin’s website leaderboard would get invited to attend the May 22 event and have dinner at the president’s private, Members-Only Club in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, the top 25 holders would be invited to an exclusive reception with Trump and enjoy a guided tour of the White House. The news raised concerns among multiple lawmakers that foreign governments seeking to influence the White House could invest in the token.
If the money came from foreign governments, it could violate federal law, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from these entities without congressional approval.
According to the letter, “Publication of this list will also let the American people know who is putting tens of millions of dollars into our President’s pocket so we can start to figure out what — beyond virtually worthless memecoins — they are getting in exchange for all this money.”
Blockchain analytics firm Nansen reported a month ago that the top 100 TRUMP holders increased their balance by over 940,000 tokens in just one hour following the announcement.
Notably, the top holder, Tron’s founder and World Liberty Financial (WLFI) investor, Justin Sun, secured his spot at the gala with 1.17 million TRUMP tokens, worth around $18.5 million at the time of the event.
Democrats Allege Potential Conflicts Of Interest
Representative Raskin considers the memecoin dinner to be the most recent example of the President’s alleged schemes to blur the lines between his business interests and the office.
“Profiting off the memecoin is just the latest in a bewildering gamut of schemes in which you and your family have profited after your return to office,” the letter reads, highlighting the Trump family’s business deals in the Middle East.
According to The Washington Post, the Democratic congressman also asked in the letter whether the White House or the president’s companies verified that the funds used to purchase the memecoin were not linked to terrorist organizations, drug cartels, or other criminal activities.
Last week, the White House’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, affirmed that the memecoin dinner did not pose a conflict of interest to the President, alleging that it was not a White House dinner, and he was attending the event on his “personal time.”
Despite this, Representative Maxine Waters, top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee and Committee Democrats, introduced H.R. 3573, also known as the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act.
The bill, co-sponsored by 14 House Representatives, seeks to prevent the US President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and their immediate families from participating in any crypto venture that would allow them to profit while they’re in office.
