By the New York Times

The protests outside Trump’s private club followed a smaller gathering at the Capitol, where half a dozen Democrats from the House and Senate denounced the dinner.

Protests erupted outside President Trump’s private club in Virginia ahead of a dinner with more than 200 buyers of his cryptocurrency tokens — the $TRUMP meme coin — amid allegations that he is selling access to the presidency to the highest bidder.

The protests followed a smaller gathering at the Capitol, where half a dozen Democrats from the House and Senate denounced the dinner.

“It is a Mount Everest of corruption,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. He then read excerpts from the Constitution and cited examples in early American history of presidential corruption schemes. “We have to put an end to this,” he said.

The protest comes after several lawmakers spoke out against the president’s involvement in cryptocurrency.

“No politician could have designed a scheme better suited to facilitate corruption from foreign individuals than the issuance of a digital asset that largely conceals the identity of its buyer,” said Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., a member of the House Financial Services Committee who generally is supportive of the crypto industry.

“It is a brazen abuse of the presidency and an offense to the principles of honest government in the United States.”

Earlier this week, the Senate advanced a bipartisan bill that would provide the U.S. with a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

The move comes amid a wave of enthusiasm for digital assets among lawmakers and the Biden administration.

The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis also released a report this week highlighting how the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic was largely dictated by the president’s personal whims and how it flouted the advice of public health experts.

The bipartisan committee’s report, titled “The Troubled Response to the Pandemic,” details how Trump’s administration ignored the advice of scientists and public health experts in favor of the president’s personal preferences and political considerations.

The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Brian Baldassano, R-N.J., said in a statement that the report "uncovers a disturbing pattern of disregard for expert advice, chaotic decision-making, and a staggering lack of urgency in the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic."

The administration's response to the pandemic has been the subject of much scrutiny, with Democrats largely blaming Trump for the slow response and lack of coordination among federal agencies. Republicans, on the other hand, have praised the administration's efforts to develop vaccines and antiviral treatments in record time.

The pandemic has infected more than 84 million people in the U.S. and killed more than 1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. It also triggered the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis was created in 2020 to investigate the pandemic response and make recommendations to prevent future crises. The committee is led by Rep. John Webber, D-Md., and Baldassano.

The panel's probe included reviewing millions of documents, interviewing hundreds of witnesses and holding dozens of public hearings over the past three years.

The bipartisan committee’s report concludes that the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic was "marked by a staggering lack of urgency, coordination and planning."

The report says that the administration’s response was largely dictated by President Trump’s personal whims and that it flouted the advice of scientists and public health experts.

"The administration’s response to the pandemic was slow, chaotic and often driven by the president’s personal preferences and political considerations, rather than by the advice of scientists and public health experts," the report says.

The panel’s report also criticizes the administration’s handling of the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to help small businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.

The report says that the program was poorly managed and that many small businesses never received the aid they needed.

"The Paycheck Protection Program was a poorly designed and executed program that failed to deliver the aid that was promised to small businesses," the report says.

The bipartisan committee’s report is likely to be part of the historical record of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.

The panel’s probe included reviewing millions of documents, interviewing hundreds of witnesses and holding dozens of public hearings over the past three years.

The committee’s vice chair, Rep. Brian Baldassano, R-N.J., said in a statement that the report "uncovers a disturbing pattern of disregard for expert advice, chaotic decision-making, and a staggering lack of urgency in the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.”

The administration’s response to the pandemic has been the subject of much scrutiny, with Democrats largely blaming Trump for the slow response and lack of coordination among federal agencies. Republicans, on the other hand, have praised the administration’s efforts to develop vaccines and antiviral treatments in record time.

The pandemic has infected more than 84 million people in the U.S. and killed more than 1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. It also triggered the worst economic