~ Legislation follows reports of President Trump’s crypto-related conflicts of interest ~
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 16 colleagues in introducing the End Crypto Corruption Act, legislation that would crack down on cryptocurrency-related corruption by elected officials at the highest levels of the federal government. This bill would ban the President, Vice President, Senior Executive Branch Officials, Members of Congress, and their immediate families from financially benefiting from issuing, endorsing, or sponsoring crypto assets, such as meme coins and stablecoins. As story after story comes out about President Trump’s crypto deals and his mounting conflicts of interest, the End Crypto Corruption Act directly addresses and curbs the Trump Administration’s apparent corruption.
“Trump’s crypto ventures give others the opportunity to gain the president’s favor, opening the door to corruption,” said Senator Hirono. “This critical legislation will help put an end to this dangerous conflict of interest and we must continue working to prevent public officials from endangering national security, public trust in government, and democracy.”
Last month, Senator Hirono joined 8 of her colleagues in urging Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to reverse the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decisions to effectively terminate the Department’s cryptocurrency investigations and prosecutions. The memo, sent to staff in early April, also stated that DOJ will disband its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), which was established to investigate and prosecute criminal misuse of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. In their letter, the Senators also raise concerns about the potential connections between DOJ’s actions and the cryptocurrency ventures of President Trump and his family.
This legislation is endorsed by Democracy Defenders Action and Public Citizen.
In addition to Senators Hirono, Merkley, and Schumer, this legislation was cosponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
The full text of the legislation is available here.
###