WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump used the presidential seal at his multi-million-dollar dinner with crypto investors despite the White House saying it was a private rather than official event, according to a social media post from a Chinese billionaire who attended the event.
Justin Sun, who is worth $8.5 billion, according to Forbes, said ahead of the May 22 dinner that “As the top holder of $TRUMP, I’m excited to connect with everyone, talk crypto, and discuss the future of our industry.” His post after the dinner showed Trump making brief remarks next to a podium with the presidential seal.
Trump’s official @GetTrumpMemes site promoted the dinner on May 5, saying, the “President of the United States is having Dinner with his top $TRUMP Coin holders. Who does that? Only The Crypto President.”
Ethics watchdogs blasted Trump for hosting the dinner that included former NBA star Lamar Odom and where investors spent an estimated $148 million on the $TRUMP meme coin to secure their seats, according to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital. About 100 protesters across the street from Trump National Golf Course Washington D.C. in Sterling, Virginia, held signs with messages such as “Stop Crypto Corruption” and “Release the guest list.”
More: Trump’s crypto dinner: Black ties, a Chinese billionaire and ethics questions
“This is one of the most blatant and appalling instances of selling access to the presidency I’ve ever seen,” said Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Sun and his companies − Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry − in March 2023. But under the Trump administration the SEC asked for the case to be put on hold in February to explore a resolution.
More: Ex-NBA player Lamar Odom met with boos from hecklers at Trump’s crypto dinner
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the dinner was a private rather than public event.
“The president is attending it in his personal time,” Leavitt said. “It’s not a White House dinner.”
She dismissed questions about the ethics of holding the dinner for people who invested in his crypto coin.
“The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws that are applicable to the president,” Leavitt said. “The American public believe it is absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting from the presidency.”
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump speaks with presidential seal at crypto dinner billed as private
