As Donald Trump’s second term got underway, the president made clear that he intended to profit — or at least try to profit — from cryptocurrencies, creating unprecedented ethical controversies. As the Republican approaches his 100-day mark, the morass is vastly worse. The New York Times reported:
The flashy online announcement called it “the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World,” a chance to have “an intimate private dinner” with President Trump at his members-only golf club in Virginia, followed by a tour of the White House. A seat would be reserved for each of the top 220 investors in $TRUMP, a cryptocurrency that Mr. Trump launched on the eve of his inauguration. … “Have Dinner with President Trump and the $TRUMP Community!” the invitation said. “Let the President know how many $TRUMP coins YOU own!”
What we’re dealing with is a relatively straightforward proposition: A website promoting one of the president’s crypto offerings announced that those who purchased his meme coin would have a chance to dine with Trump and get a White House tour.
The Times’ report described this as “an astonishing escalation of the Trump family’s efforts to profit from crypto,” adding that, for all intents and purposes, Trump’s business partners were offering White House and presidential access “in exchange for an investment” in one of Trump’s ventures.
Corey Frayer, who oversaw crypto policy for the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Biden administration, told the Times, “This is really incredible. They are making the pay-to-play deal explicit.”
The White House declined to comment, which made sense, given that it’d be awfully difficult to come up with some kind of defense for this.
In case anyone needs a refresher as to how we arrived at this point, the trouble began in earnest in January. With just three days remaining before his presidential inauguration, Trump found time to launch one last post-election grift: Without explanation or defense, the Republican and his family started selling a cryptocurrency token. (Two days later, first lady Melania Trump apparently got in on the game, launching a “coin” of her own.)
While the president’s many merchandising opportunities have been difficult to keep up with, this latest endeavor was arguably the most outrageous — in part because of the rather obvious conflict of interest related to the Securities and Exchange Commission and in part because of the brazenness of Trump’s profiteering.
The Campaign Legal Center’s Adav Noti explained soon after, “It is literally cashing in on the presidency — creating a financial instrument so people can transfer money to the president’s family in connection with his office. It is beyond unprecedented.”
What was to stop a foreign government, eager to bribe the American president, from quietly dumping money into Trump’s crypto project, effectively making direct payments to the president without public disclosure? Nothing. The day after being sworn into office, Trump continued to use his social media platform to promote his controversial meme coin. In the weeks that followed, his efforts continued. In late January, the president wrote online, “I LOVE $TRUMP!!” In March, adopting the writing style of a tween, Trump published a follow-up item that read, “I LOVE $TRUMP — SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The brazenness, however, continues to reach new depths. As Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut recently noted in an unrelated matter, “Just because the corruption plays out in public doesn’t mean it’s not corruption.” This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
