Lawmakers Call for Federal Investigation into Trump Memecoin Dinner
More than 30 members of the US Congress have called for the Department of Justice to investigate a controversial dinner where Donald Trump dined with key investors in the $TRUMP memecoin, with claims of foreign influence and violations of the US Constitution.
Claims of Foreign Influence and Constitutional Violations
On May 22, 35 members signed a letter to the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section urging an investigation of whether the dinner violates federal bribery laws or the Constitution’s emoluments clause. That clause prohibits US presidents from receiving foreign state gifts without Congressional approval.
Citing Bloomberg, the lawmakers noted that several of the attendees were probably foreign nationals connected with crypto exchanges, and that they ought to be raising questions about possible covert foreign influence in US politics.
$TRUMP memecoin. invites foreign governments to buy their way in with the President,” the letter warned.
Protests and Unreleased Guest List
The event took place at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC, with protests led by Senator Jeff Merkley and protesters holding signs like “illegal crypto party.” Some guests wore masks over their faces, but Tron creator Justin Sun and other Trump allies attended, as reported.
Calls for Trump to release the guest list before the event were made, but no list was released at press time.
Impact on Upcoming Crypto Legislation
The controversy came at a time when Congress is debating significant crypto legislation like the GENIUS Act that regulates stablecoins. New crypto legislation has been advanced by Democratic lawmakers to restrict political crypto ties, with Rep. Maxine Waters suggesting bans on crypto access for top US officials and their relatives.
Senators also plan to amend the GENIUS Act to encompass Trump’s connection with World Liberty Financial—a family-funded crypto platform and issuer of the USD1 stablecoin.
