Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on a federal watchdog Monday to launch an inquiry into a recent deal announced by the Trump family’s crypto firm, raising concerns it could create an opening for foreign influence.
The company launched by President Trump and his sons, World Liberty Financial, revealed last week that its new stablecoin would be used to complete a $2 billion transaction between Emirati firm MGX and crypto exchange Binance.
“The deal, if completed, would represent a staggering conflict of interest, one that may violate the Constitution and open our government to a startling degree of foreign influence and the potential for a quid pro quo that could endanger national security,” Merkley and Warren wrote to Jamieson Greer, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics.
The senators argued that World Liberty Financial could be used as “a backdoor for foreign kickbacks and bribes” given its connections to both the Trump family and the Witkoff family.
Steve Witkoff currently serves as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. His son, Zach Witkoff, is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial.
The Trump and Witkoff families will “likely indirectly” receive hundreds of millions of dollars through the transaction, Merkley and Warren warned.
“The Trumps and Witkoffs, in essence, are receiving a cut of the deal between an entity of a foreign government, MGX, and a private entity, Binance, with significant business before the U.S. government,” they said. “This creates the potential for significant conflicts of interest.”
The senators also underscored their concerns with both parties involved with the deal, noting that Binance previously settled criminal charges with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and has reportedly sought a pardon for its convicted founder.
MGX has close ties to the government of the United Arab Emirates through its chairman, who serves as national security advisor and reportedly lobbied the Trump administration for lighter restrictions on advanced chip sales from U.S. companies.
“In short, a crypto firm whose founder needs a pardon and a foreign government spymaker coveting sensitive U.S. technology plan to pay the Trump and Witkoff families hundreds of millions of dollars,” Merkley and Warren wrote.
“The opportunities for grift – in which the Trump Administration offers favors to the UAE or to Binance in exchange for their massive payouts – are mind-boggling,” they added.
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