A $1 million-per-plate campaign dinner? That was so April.
Just 11 days after President Donald Trump hosted a $1 million dollar dinner for the MAGA Inc Super PAC, he kicked it up another notch in May with a $1.5 million-per-plate dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.
Co-hosting the shindig with him on May 5 was David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar who collaborates with lawmakers on potential regulations for digital assets.
The purpose of the fundraiser was unclear as the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment bars him from seeking a third term. Still, last month, the Trump Organization began selling “Trump 2028” caps.
While Trump has teased the idea of a third term, he said during a recent interview that it is to “the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do.”
“I’ll be an eight-year president; I’ll be a two-term president. I always thought that was very important,” Trump told with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an interview that aired May 4.
Even if Trump doesn’t use the war chest for himself, he could help candidates he chooses, giving him immense influence.
On May 22, a second fundraiser will give 220 of the top holders of a $TRUMP meme coin a chance to have dinner with the president at the same golf club. The dress code? Black tie optional.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, questioned a White House ethics waiver allowing Sacks to shape federal crypto policy while holding personal financial stakes in the industry.
“Tonight, Mr. Sacks is co-hosting a $1.5 million-a-head dinner for crypto industry players to raise money for a Trump-aligned super PAC,” wrote Warren in a letter to the United States Office of Government Ethics. “Meanwhile, Mr. Sacks is financially invested in the crypto industry, positioning him to potentially profit from the crypto policy changes he makes at the White House.”
Warren says that although Sacks and his firm divested over $200 million in crypto assets to mitigate conflicts of interest, he continues to own “illiquid investments in the private equity of digital asset-related companies,” which total under 3.8% of his total investment assets.
Ethics watchdogs have also expressed concern that businesses and individuals seeking to influence the president are buying his meme coins to curry favor with the administration.
The May 5 dinner was closed to press.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s pricey fundraiser with crypto czar draws criticism from Warren
