Trump Deals With Crypto Billionaire May Violate Emoluments Clause
Trump's crypto deals with Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire who wants recognition for Liberland, a micronation in Europe, raises ethical concerns.
rollingstone.com
TL;DR: In his second term, Donald Trump has doubled down on “self-dealing” by turning the presidency into a crypto cash cow. New research from watchdog Accountable.US shows the Trump family’s meme-coin schemes and their World Liberty Financial token (USD1) have sent their net worth soaring—crypto now makes up most of Trump’s fortune—while his administration has quietly deregulated digital assets. All the while, lawyers warn these deals may violate the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause by letting foreign backers slip him kickbacks.
The juicy bits:
- A UAE-backed venture firm inked a $2 billion USD1-Binance deal that could funnel tens of millions to the Trumps.
- Senators Warren and Merkley flagged the token as a “bribery mechanism” for foreign governments.
- Meanwhile, crypto boss Justin Sun pumped $75 million into WLFI, got an SEC fraud case frozen, and is now palling around with Team Trump—despite his Tron platform’s ties to money-laundering.
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