U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is steering clear of controversy surrounding former President Donald Trump’s private dinner with top holders of his TRUMP memecoin — an event that has raised red flags among Democrats, who are now pushing for a federal investigation.
In a May 25 interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Johnson appeared uninterested and uninformed about the May 22 crypto-centric gathering hosted by Trump at his golf club in Virginia. When pressed on whether the list of attendees should be made public, Johnson deflected. “I don’t know anything about the dinner,” he said, claiming his focus had been on passing a $1.6 trillion federal budget bill that week.
Tapper challenged Johnson’s indifference, noting the lack of transparency: “We do not know who was there. The list has not been released. We do not know how much of the money came from outside the country.” He then asked Johnson if he would be equally unconcerned had it been a Democratic president holding such a dinner. Johnson didn’t engage the hypothetical. Instead, he reiterated Trump’s supposed track record of openness, saying, “He’s the most transparent president we’ve ever had… He has nothing to hide.”
However, Johnson’s remarks haven’t quelled growing unease among Democrats. Concerns center on whether Trump may have received funding or gifts from foreign nationals — potentially violating federal bribery laws or the U.S. Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting anything of value from foreign states without Congressional approval.
The scrutiny intensified following a May 7 Bloomberg report suggesting that a large portion of attendees at Trump’s memecoin dinner were likely foreign nationals. Among them was Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun, CEO of Tron and reportedly the single largest holder of the TRUMP token. Sun is also a major financial backer of World Liberty Financial, Trump’s affiliated crypto platform.
Other attendees included Sheldon Xia, CEO of BitMart, a crypto exchange registered in the Cayman Islands, who posted images from the dinner on X (formerly Twitter). Australian crypto entrepreneur Kain Warwick, known for his involvement with Synthetix, told The New York Times he bought enough TRUMP tokens to crack the top 25 investors and gain a seat at the event.
For Democrats, the dinner represents more than just a crypto meetup. To them, it’s part of a broader pattern of Trump leveraging his political brand for personal financial gain — this time in the booming and loosely regulated world of digital assets.
Senator Elizabeth Warren didn’t mince words, calling the event an “orgy of corruption” during a May 22 press conference. She and other Democrats, including Rep. Maxine Waters, are now demanding a full accounting of who attended and how the dinner was financed.
Waters is also spearheading new legislation aimed squarely at Trump’s crypto dealings. The “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act,” introduced the same day as the dinner, seeks to block Trump and his family from profiting off digital assets while holding or seeking public office. “Trump has used the power of the presidency to shamelessly promote and profit from a series of crypto ventures,” Waters said, pointing to the TRUMP token, his World Liberty Financial platform, and its associated stablecoin USD1.
The bill has garnered support from 14 lawmakers so far, including prominent voices like Nydia Velázquez, Brad Sherman, and Gregory Meeks. And more action may be coming. Some members of Congress are even exploring amendments to other pending crypto bills — such as the GENIUS Act — to account for the Trump family’s crypto involvement.
Whether the Justice Department will take up the Democrats’ call for an investigation remains to be seen. But with Trump doubling down on crypto as part of his 2024 campaign messaging, the political crossfire over digital assets is only heating up.
