Congressional Democrats unloaded on President Donald Trump’s plans to dine with top holders of his meme coin this evening, demanding answers about who will be in attendance, and framing the event as an unprecedented assault on longstanding disclosure norms associated with the U.S. presidency.
“Donald Trump's dinner is an orgy of corruption,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said during a press conference Thursday. “The American people have no idea who is buying access to the president, and no idea what they are getting in return.”
The top 220 holders of Trump’s meme coin have been invited to dine with him this evening at his Washington-area golf club. The top 25 holders, who have in some cases spent tens of millions of dollars purchasing the president’s token, will have the opportunity to speak with the president during an even more intimate VIP reception.
The event will be closed to the press, and the White House has previously declined to answer questions about it, stating that it pertains to President Trump’s personal life and not his official role as president. Trump and his business partners have also thus far refrained from releasing information about who will be dining with the president tonight, or what will be discussed.
One confirmed attendee of the event is Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who was under investigation by the Department of Justice for suspected financial crimes and was sued by the SEC in 2023 for alleged fraud and market manipulation. In February, the SEC moved to pause its litigation against Sun and work towards “a potential resolution” in the case.
“It provides cover for the most corrupt, for the most compromised, for the worst of the worst, to channel money to Donald Trump in order to get their private audience with him—in order to plead their case for favorable treatment from the federal government, or for investment from the U.S. taxpayer,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said of tonight’s dinner.
At today’s press conference, Democrats urged the president to, at the very least, disclose the identities of the meme coin investors he will dine with tonight. A large sign in front of the podium during this afternoon’s press conference read: “Release the Guest List.”
“Let the American people know who has bought access to the president,” Murphy said. “If you think that this is all above board, then what are you hiding?”
Decrypt reached out to the White House asking whether the president plans to release a guest list for tonight’s dinner at some point, but we did not immediately receive a response.
Other senators, including Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), underscored the risk of a sitting U.S. president exposing himself to financial influence from foreign actors. Most of the Trump token’s top investors are customers of foreign crypto exchanges barred from serving U.S. customers.
“It's not just about corruption,” Blumenthal said. “It is about corruption that endangers our national security by putting the president in a compromised position in relation to foreign powers.”
Numerous Democratic senators also took the opportunity this afternoon to tie the president’s alleged crypto conflicts of interest to digital assets legislation pending before Congress. Several lawmakers directly referenced the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin bill currently under active consideration in the Senate that was nearly derailed earlier this month over outrage in the Democratic Party over Trump’s various crypto ventures.
Democratic senators, including Murphy, Warren, and Blumenthal, insisted that an amendment be added to the GENIUS Act prohibiting the president from issuing and profiting off his own stablecoin while in office. Trump’s DeFi venture, World Liberty Financial, issued its own stablecoin in March. Democrats should reject the bill if it ends up lacking that amendment, they said.
“Without this fix, we're not regulating stablecoins,” Warren said. “We are turbocharging the same corruption that we are witnessing tonight as Donald Trump opens the White House doors and sells favors to his wealthy crypto allies.”
Opposition to Trump’s crypto ventures is quickly crystallizing into one of Democrats’ most salient critiques against the president’s second term. Earlier today, House Democrats introduced a bill that would restrict the president and his immediate family from engaging in crypto-related business dealings while he serves in office.
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