More than 200 investors in $TRUMP willĀ dine with the presidentĀ at his golf club outside of Washington, D.C., in what Democratic lawmakers have alleged is a āpay-to-play schemeā effectively selling access to Trump.
āThere is a big āFor Saleā sign on the White House lawn,ā Sen.Ā Jeff MerkleyĀ (D-Ore.) said at a press conference Thursday. āU.S. policy for sale.ā
āAnyone who thinks those 220 people who are attending the dinner tonight who paid about $150 million for those seats just really craved to have a digital equivalent of a baseball trading card, well, youāre a little off the mark,ā he continued. āThey absolutely want to buy influence over U.S. policy.ā
Trump launched his meme coin shortly before his inauguration. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies typically based on internet trends that have no inherent value, often making them highly volatile assets.
The token almost immediately drew scrutiny, prompting concerns that it could be used to buy influence with the president.
$TRUMP even received pushback from within theĀ crypto industry, as some worried it could derail the presidentās efforts to pass long-sought digital asset legislation.
However, the announcement of the dinner last month, which urged investors to load up on $TRUMP to secure one of 220 spots at the āintimate private dinner,ā has sparked a new level of backlash.
āDonald Trumpās dinner is an orgy of corruption,ā Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday. āThatās what this is all about. We are here today to talk about exactly one topic, corruption, corruption in its ugliest form.ā
āDonald Trump is using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto, and heās doing it right out there in plain sight,ā she added. āHe is signaling to anyone who wants to ask for a special favor and is willing to pay for it, exactly how to do that.ā
The White House has pushed backed on these allegations, arguing that Trump is attending the event in his personal time and abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws.
āThe president has been asked about this, he has addressed this. I have also stated previously from this podium that the president is abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president,ā White House press secretaryĀ Karoline LeavittĀ said Thursday.
āAnd I think everybody, the American public, believes it is absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency,ā she continued.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
