Public Citizen Asks DOJ to Probe the Legality of Trump's Memecoin

The president launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin in mid-January, days before he took office.

A progressive think tank is asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to probe the legality of President Donald Trump’s new memecoin.

The president launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin in mid-January, days before he took office. The controversial crypto asset rapidly skyrocketed in value and is now the 41st-largest digital asset by market cap.

Officials at the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen say in a new letter to the DOJ and the Office of Government Ethics that the memecoin could be a violation of federal law regulating gifts to government officials.

Public Citizen officials point out that the TRUMP website notes the memecoins “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”

“Accordingly, a person sending money for a Trump meme is not purchasing a tangible product. 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…

In short, it appears Trump is not soliciting money in exchange for an investment or tangible product (such as a Bible, sports shoes, or a guitar), but soliciting money in exchange for nothing — that is, asking for a gift that will benefit him personally.

"Public Citizen officials say that under federal law, government officials are not permitted to “solicit anything of value from a person who seeks official action from the officer.” The organization officials add that the law “also appears to apply to gifts that might be given to curry favor with an official.”

Public Citizen officials also note that the TRUMP memecoin website states that those purchasing the memecoins “understand, acknowledge, and agree that they are not acquiring any rights in or to any investment or tangible product in exchange for sending money for a Trump meme.”

The organization officials say this language “is designed to avoid the conclusion that people who send money for a Trump meme are making a donation to Trump's political campaign or to Trump personally.”

“However, the officials add, “the language also appears to be designed to avoid the conclusion that Trump is not soliciting money in exchange for anything of value — that is, a gift.”

Public Citizen officials say that 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.”

“This raises the possibility that the president may be violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” the officials add.

Public Citizen officials aren’t the only ones to question the merit of assets like TRUMP. Ethereum (ETH) founder Vitalik Buterin said last month that political coins represented “vehicles for unlimited political bribery,” though he didn’t mention any specific token by name.