Democrats Threaten Lawsuits, Join Protests Ahead of Trump Memecoin Dinner

WASHINGON, D.C. — Congressional Democrats threatened lawsuits, launched laws and deliberate protests within the lead-up to U.S. President Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner.

Trump, whose affiliated companies issued the $TRUMP memecoin simply days earlier than he was inaugurated for his second time period, introduced he would host the 220 largest holders of his token for a dinner on the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia on Thursday, resulting in a value spike as events instantly purchased extra tokens to safe an invitation.

Critics known as the transfer corrupt, pointing to the truth that overseas patrons who in any other case couldn’t legally donate cash to the president had been buying tokens, in addition to the opacity surrounding their buys — many of the dinner’s attendees are unknown, and a few even pointed to the flexibility to take care of anonymity as an element of their resolution to go, in keeping with the Washington Post.

Tron creator Justin Sun boasted about being the highest holder of the token forward of the dinner, with blockchain explorers suggesting that the pockets with the biggest $TRUMP holding is tied to HTX, a crypto trade linked to Sun.

Legal motion

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who beforehand wrote open letters to 2 Trump-affiliated companies asking about their crypto ventures, advised reporters in a press name organized by center-left watchdog Accountable US that Trump was “auctioning” entry to the White House with the memecoin dinner.

“What’s happening tonight…is in effect, putting a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House,” Blumenthal stated. “It’s auctioning off access. He’s literally saying to investors, ‘the more you buy of my memecoin, the greater your chance of coming to dinner with me.’”

Blumenthal steered {that a} lawsuit would possibly power Trump to adjust to no less than some guidelines round overseas presents or funds.

During Trump’s first presidency, Blumenthal and different members of Congress sued Trump for allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution’s overseas emoluments clause, which forbids public officers from taking presents from overseas governments with out the permission of Congress. Though an appeals court docket ultimately nixed the swimsuit, Blumenthal stated Thursday he’s able to attempt once more.

“If there were an authorization from Congress, members would bring a lawsuit. I would be more than happy to do it. I’d be eager to do it,” he stated.

Even if Congress would not authorize this, personal teams, like public curiosity our bodies, might additionally deliver a lawsuit, which lawmakers might help via Amicus briefs, he stated.

“And essentially, the allegation would be, he’s violating the provision of the United States Constitution that forbids payments or benefits from a foreign power, plenipotentiary,” he stated. “It’s specifically enumerated in the Constitution, unless he has consent with Congress and he has no consent.”

Thirty-five Members of Congress wrote a letter to the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section calling for “an immediate investigation” into the dinner on Thursday, particularly citing considerations about “potential corruption and emoluments clause violations.”

The letter, signed by crypto-friendly lawmakers like Ritchie Torres and Shri Thanedar, in addition to extra important representatives like Brad Sherman, famous that firms have explicitly stated they’d purchase $TRUMP tokens to attempt to affect the president.

“U.S. law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to U.S. political campaigns,” the letter stated. “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 lawmakers “urged” the Public Integrity Section to “determine whether this dinner event violates the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

New payments

Representative Maxine Waters, the rating Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, pushed a brand new invoice on Thursday that once more seeks to make the president’s crypto dealings explicitly unlawful. The laws — labeled the Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act of 2025, rigorously named for functions of an acronym because the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act — prohibits senior authorities officers and lawmakers from proudly owning, controlling or serving as an officer of a crypto agency or token issuer, and in addition from buying and selling in digital belongings if they’ve particular perception as a result of of their authorities position.

“Nowhere is Trump’s blatant disregard and disrespect for the rule of law more apparent than in the way he has exploited the office of the Presidency to promote shady, fraudulent crypto ventures that hold no real value, and serve no true purpose other than to pad his pockets,” Waters said in a statement when she announced the legislation.

A White House spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the backlash from Democrats. During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was “attending [the dinner] in his private time.”

“It isn’t a White House dinner, it is not going down right here,” she said when asked if the White House would share the names of the attendees.

Waters’ bill is substantially similar to earlier efforts from Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat behind the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, and Representative Sam Liccardo, who also had a bill in the House.

The Democrats protesting Trump’s dinner, however, further reveal the party’s crypto split. These are largely the same lawmakers who have maintained opposition to crypto legislation, while another faction of the party recently joined with Republicans to advance a stablecoin bill in the Senate. Their argument: Trump’s actions may be inappropriate — or even illegal — but new legislation doesn’t need to further underline that point.

Further protests

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley and Murphy held a press conference Thursday afternoon alongside consumer advocacy groups to decry the president’s dinner plans. The lawmakers are demanding that Trump reveal the names of the evening’s attendees.

“With foreign-linked wallets, untraceable transactions, and no press allowed, the occasion raises alarming questions on overseas affect, nationwide safety and the rising corruption on the coronary heart of Trump’s crypto empire,” they said in a statement announcing the press conference at the U.S. Capitol.

During the press conference itself, Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, stood in front of a podium with posters saying “launch the visitor record” and asking “who’s coming to dinner?”

“Tonight is the orgy of corruption,” Warren said at the Thursday press conference. She singled out the expected attendance of Tron’s Sun, saying he “will be having an especially good time at tonight’s dinner” after the Securities and Exchange Commission paused its Tron enforcement work under the Trump administration.

“Even if you release the names, it’s still corrupt,” Murphy argued on Thursday, adding that at least sharing the attendee info will “show us who has bought access to him.”

“This president is coin-operated, both literally and figuratively,” stated Liccardo, who added that Trump’s declare of attending in a private capability could open him as much as authorized costs.

Merkley was additionally set to affix a night protest close to the gold-club dinner location, simply exterior of Washington.

Read extra: Trump’s Memecoin Dinner Draws Crowded Cast of Democratic Protesters from Congress

UPDATE (May 22, 2025, 19:20 UTC): Adds info from Senate Dems’ press convention.

UPDATE (May 23, 2025, 02:20 UTC): Adds lawmaker letter.