Trump’s Pre-Inauguration Cryptocurrency Stunt Already Collected $320M, Prompting New Legislation

The coin has already collected $320 million since it was announced in January before Trump’s inauguration, prompting Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and others to introduce legislation that would prevent presidents and officials

A White House official on Friday shot down questions about whether President Trump’s personal financial interests could be affected by a dinner later this year for coin collectors, despite it being framed as an initiative to benefit veterans.

The administration is planning the dinner, for which foreign nationals could pay up to $50,000 to attend, after a bill to ban presidents and officials in Senate-confirmed positions from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing specific financial instruments was tabled in Congress earlier this year.

The bill, which was introduced by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) following the announcement of Trump’s new coin, is intended to prevent presidents from being personally involved in cryptocurrency ventures.

“The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Friday. “The president has been incredibly transparent with his own personal financial obligations throughout the years. The president is a successful businessman, and I think, frankly, it’s one of the reasons that people reelected him.”

Jean-Pierre demurred when pressed on whether the dinner, which foreign nationals could attend, was a chance for coin owners to lobby Trump about public policy.

“Look, I can assure you, the president acts with only the interests of the American public in mind, putting our country first and doing what’s best for our country,” Jean-Pierre said. “Full stop. Best intentions.”

However, Jean-Pierre’s protestations did not stop questions concerning ethics, particularly ahead of Trump’s trip to the Middle East next week. The trip comes shortly after his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, embarked on similar tours of the region and Europe to underscore the family’s business interests.

Those interests include a billion-dollar luxury hotel in the United Arab Emirates and a villa complex in Qatar, as well as a UAE-supported venture capital fund using a currency provided by the Trump cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial. The president will be in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE next week.

“It’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,” Jean-Pierre said. “He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once, but twice.”

Jean-Pierre remained adamant that Trump “is a president who has actually lost money for being president of the United States.”

WHAT ‘DUE PROCESS’ DO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ACTUALLY GET BY LAW?

“I don’