Rep. Sam Liccardo Introduces the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act

A new bill introduced by Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) on Thursday aims to prevent high-level officials, including the President, Vice President, members of Congress, and their families, from engaging in the issuance, sponsorship, or endorsement of digital assets, securities, and commodities.

The Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act would also impose criminal and civil penalties for violations, and includes a retroactive element to cover assets issued prior to the bill’s enactment.

The legislation is in response to the recent surge in interest in meme coins, which has led to concerns about officials engaging in such activities for personal profit or exploiting their positions.

Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump announced the launch of his own cryptocurrency, known as TRUMPcoin, just ahead of his inauguration. The token reached an impressive $13 billion in market valuation within a day of its launch and continued to climb to $25 billion over the next few days.

However, the token's price plummeted shortly after, and at press time, TRUMP was trading at around $12, marking an 82% decline from its peak, according to CoinGecko.

This steep price drop has resulted in significant losses for investors who purchased the token at higher prices.

The involvement of high-level officials in cryptocurrency ventures has raised concerns about transparency, insider trading, and foreign influence. Even some Trump-supporting crypto enthusiasts have expressed ethical issues with the launch of the TRUMP token.

"Let’s make corruption criminal again,” said Liccardo. “Our public offices belong to the public, not the officeholders, nor should they leverage their political authority for financial gain. The Trumps’ issuance of meme coins financially exploits the public for personal gain, and raises the specter of insider trading and foreign influence over the Executive Branch.”

In addition to digital assets, the bill would also cover other financial assets, such as stock in Truth Social, a company founded by Trump.

The bill would be able to force the president to return any profits he made from the meme coin. It would also allow investors to sue public officials if they lose money on a meme coin that is backed by the official.

However, given the current political landscape in the House of Representatives, it is highly unlikely that a piece of Democrat-sponsored legislation will pass.

Liccardo’s proposed legislation has twelve Democratic cosponsors; yet, it is unlikely to avoid an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled House.