Public Citizen Asks DOJ and OGE to Investigate Trump's Repost of His Cryptocurrency Coin

Federal law prohibits the president from soliciting gifts, the left-wing group said.

Public Citizen filed a complaint on Wednesday asking the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics to investigate Trump’s reposting on X in January of a cryptocurrency coin that he launched and personally owns.

The left-wing group pointed out federal law that prohibits the president from soliciting gifts.

“The dangers inherent in the Trump meme portend ominously,” Public Citizen’s Bartlett Naylor and Craig Holman wrote in the complaint. “Should the president be allowed to enrich himself in this way, other politicians might follow this path, rendering the prohibition on solicitation in 18 U.S.C. § 201 and the prohibitions on receipt of gifts by officials other than the president virtually meaningless.”

Trump’s meme coin, called $TRUMP, was launched several days before his inauguration. Meme coins are known to have no intrinsic value and fluctuate in value based on speculation in the market. An affiliate of the Trump Organization called CIC Digital owns 80% of the coins.

As small traders lost money on the meme coin, entities behind it raked in an estimated $100 million in trading fees, according to Reuters.

The meme coin launch raised concerns from Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts, who said it appeared as though Trump was cashing in on his presidency. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote a letter to the Office of Government Ethics, stating that “the leaders of hostile nations” could buy the coin, “raising the specter of uninhibited and untraceable foreign influence over the President of the United States.”

The meme coins “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type,” according to a description on the meme website.

“Accordingly, a person sending money for a Trump meme is not purchasing a tangible product,” Public Citizen said in the complaint. “Instead, the person receives only a digital receipt (in a blockchain), which is similar to a donor sending a check and receiving digital confirmation that the check was received.”

The watchdog said that, as a result, it appears as though Trump is soliciting funds for “a gift that will benefit him personally.”

“Beyond the issue of solicitation, the Constitution (Article 1, Section 9) forbids accepting money (specifically a ‘present’ or ’emolument’) or anything of value from any ‘king, prince, or foreign state,'” the complaint said. “Because of the nature of a cryptocurrency exchange, it is difficult to know whether foreign state actors are gifting the president by way of purchasing a Trump meme. We urge you to investigate this issue, as well.”

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The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and neither did the Justice Department.

The Office of Government Ethics declined to comment.