It’s not exactly a surprise in American politics when money begets access to political leaders, but usually, there is at least a facade that makes it appear slightly less transactional than it is. Not so with $TRUMP Coin, the meme cryptocurrency associated with President Trump, which just recently announced that the top holders will get a private dinner with the leader of the free world. That level of brazen tit for tat access has set off the alarm bells for some Democratic Senators who have questions about the whole arrangement.
According to CNBC, Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter on Friday to the US Office of Government Ethics requesting an investigation into whether Trump offering dinner to anyone who puts enough money into his meme coin amounts to a violation of federal ethics rules.
“This latest action raises grave ethics and legal concerns, including the severe risk that President Trump and other officials may be engaging in ‘pay to play’ corruption by selling presidential access to individuals or entities, to include foreign nationals and corporate actors with vested interests in federal action, while personally enriching the President and his family,” the senators wrote, per CNBC.
On its face, it seems like a pretty legitimate concern. On Wednesday morning, the team behind the memecoin $TRUMP announced that the top 220 holders of the token would be invited to participate in a private dinner with Trump on May 22—plus a VIP reception and tour for the top 25 holders—where they promised the President will speak about “the future of crypto.” So, not only does holding the coin get you in the room with the President, but it also potentially gives you an inside track on his future policies in the crypto space.
The announcement alone set the price of the coin, which had been languishing in recent months, skyrocketing by nearly 60%, breaking the $14 mark (still a long way off from its high of $75.35, which it hit the day before Trump took office). That effectively puts money directly into the pocket of Trump. About 80% of all Trump coins are owned by two entities: CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which is co-owned by, wait for it, CIC Digital. They also “receive trading revenue derived from trading activities,” per the Trump Coin site.
So if you’re, say, a crypto bigwig or a foreign actor and you’d like to get within earshot of the president, in theory, all you have to do is spend a few million on this memecoin and you can sit down with him. And earlier this year, the SEC issued guidance on meme coins stating that they will not be subject to oversight by the agency, so you don’t have to worry about your bid for access getting scrutinized by pesky regulators.
The concerns of the senators are likely to go unheeded, given the general disinterest in regulatory enforcement within the Trump administration and the significant disinterest in ethical frameworks. But it’s at least good to point at the elephant in the room from time to time to make sure everyone is seeing it.
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