Warren, Van Hollen Call on Trump and Trump Family to Divest from World Liberty Financial; Sound Alarm on Foreign Governments Using Trump Crypto to Curry Presidential Favors
Trump and His Family Will Earn Millions from United Arab Emirates-Connected Crypto Deal as The Administration is Set to Approve Sales of U.S. AI Chips to Emirati Firm With China Ties
Trump Middle East Travel Comes Days After Republicans Tried to Jam Through GENIUS Act with No Basic Protections against the President’s Crypto Corruption.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Committee, sent a letter to President Trump expressing deep concern over the timing of his trip to the Middle East, warning that his personal financial entanglements with foreign governments threaten to undermine U.S. national security.
“Your stopover in the United Arab Emirates, where you will reportedly seal a deal relaxing export controls on sensitive U.S. technology, is poised to showcase a new level of grifting – and it will come directly at the expense of U.S. national security,” the Senators wrote.
In the letter the lawmakers urged President Trump to divest from USD1 and any related financial interests before negotiating with foreign governments that could use the stablecoin to influence U.S. policy. But just hours after the letter was sent, The New York Times reported that the Trump Administration is considering a major deal to sell advanced U.S. AI chips to G42 — an Emirati firm with deep ties to the UAE’s surveillance apparatus and a history of cooperation with the Chinese government. This is exactly the type of conflict the senators warned about.
On May 1, Eric Trump announced a $2 billion transaction between the UAE state-backed MGX and Binance that will be routed through the USD1 stablecoin associated with the President.
“In essence, WLF – and you and your family by extension – are receiving a cut of this deal,” wrote the Senators.
They continued: “MGX, Binance, and WLF notably announced their deal just days before your planned trip to the Middle East, providing you and your family with a financial boost as you contemplate key policy decisions with significant implications for the UAE and U.S. national security… Coincidental or not, MGX’s USD1 investment coincides with your reported plan to soften U.S. export controls for advanced AI chips.”
In the letter the Senators also point to reports that the Qatari Royal Family plans to give President Trump a luxury jumbo jet during the trip — raising even more red flags about the potential for corrupt financial influence. But corruption is only the beginning of the problem: selling large clusters of advanced AI chips to a country with close ties to the Chinese government risks supercharging surveillance, enabling bioweapons and cyber warfare, and eroding America’s technological edge.
“Selling these chips to the UAE is not in our interest. Yet you appear poised to cut a deal that undercuts our national interest in pursuit of personal gain,” emphasized the Senators. “This trip appears to be a case study in how foreign governments may now seek to curry your favor: by using your stablecoin for massive crypto transactions and showering you with extravagant gifts,” the senators warned.
This all comes just days after Republicans attempted to ram through the GENIUS Act — legislation that would expand the stablecoin market without the most basic protections against the President’s conflicts of interest or foreign corruption.
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