US House of Representatives members called for the Justice Department to investigate Donald Trump’s May 22 dinner for his top memecoin investors

Members of the US House of Representatives called for the Justice Department to investigate Donald Trump’s May 22 dinner for his top memecoin investors

Members of the US House of Representatives have called for the Justice Department to investigate former President Donald Trump’s dinner for his top memecoin investors, which was held last week, over concerns about “foreign influence over US policy decisions” and “potential corruption and emoluments clause violations.”

In a May 22 letter to the Justice Department’s public integrity section acting chief, Edward Sullivan, 35 House members asked for an inquiry into whether the memecoin dinner, which was held at the Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, DC, on May 21, violated the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the US Constitution.

According to a Bloomberg report, a majority of the attendees at the dinner were likely foreign nationals based on their connections to crypto exchanges.

“US law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to US political campaigns,” stated the letter from the House members. “However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.”

The request for an investigation and a press conference asking Trump to “release the guest list” for the dinner both came hours ahead of the event. A group of protesters, joined by Senator Jeff Merkley, gathered outside the venue with signs stating “illegal crypto party” and “democracy is not for sale.”

The protesters, who were seen in a video report by Semafor, also displayed a banner with the message: "No foreign interference in US elections. No foreign donations to candidates or parties. A president cannot be bought by a few billionaire donors or a foreign government."

The Trump administration was previously warned about the risks of foreign interference in the 2020 election by intelligence officials, who briefed the president and his top aides.

The House members also mentioned in their letter that the administration responded to a request from the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2021 to provide any briefings or other materials related to foreign interference in the 2020 election.

Despite the warnings, the administration ultimately decided not to take any significant action to counter the threat, which was attributed to Russia, China and Iran.

The call for a DOJ investigation and the press conference asking Trump to release the guest list both came hours ahead of the event. A group of protesters, joined by Senator Jeff Merkley, gathered outside the venue with signs stating "illegal crypto party" and "democracy is not for sale."

The protesters, who were seen in a video report by Semafor, also displayed a banner with the message: "No foreign interference in US elections. No foreign donations to candidates or parties. A president can be bought by a few billionaire donors or a foreign government."

The Trump administration was previously warned about the risks of foreign interference in the 2020 election by intelligence officials, who briefed the president and his top aides.

The House members also mentioned in their letter that the administration responded to a request from the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2021 to provide any briefings or other materials related to foreign interference in the 2020 election.

Despite the warnings, the administration ultimately decided not to take any significant action to counter the threat, which was attributed to Russia, China and Iran.