President Trump is hosting an exclusive dinner tonight at his Trump National Golf Club near Washington, D.C., with a unique guest list: 220 of the largest investors in his $Trump meme coin, whose current or previous holdings of the cryptocurrency earned them a seat at the table.
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Norm Eisen is a former ambassador who was an ethics advisor to former President Barack Obama and now serves as the executive chair of Democracy Defenders Action.
Citing the Emoluments Clause, the constitutional provision that bars federal officials from accepting gifts, payments, or other benefits from foreign governments without congressional consent, Eisen describes the dinner as "the most profound ethics and constitutional emoluments violations in the history of our presidency."
"The existence of this digital currency is a naked attempt to exploit [Trump's] prior and current presidencies," Eisen said.
"Foreigners and foreign governments are going to take advantage of that situation to put money in — expecting things in return," he predicted.
Creating such a quid pro quo could have significant national security implications, with such influence potentially leading to foreign policy decision that favor other countries over the U.S. Notably, foreign entities are prohibited from donating to political campaigns or influencing decision making of candidates — all to avoid foreign interference in U.S. affairs.
President Trump walks off Air Force One on April 29 at Selfridge Air National Guard
In an emailed statement to NPR, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said: "The president is working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself."
"President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public — which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media," she said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a White House official said, "the meme coin has nothing to do with the White House."
Lee, the investment manager, says he doesn't think the meme tokens or the dinner present a particularly thorny ethical dilemma. "I don't know how you would get close to Trump by buying his meme coin," he says. "If you're a person of means, you can get close to any politician, right?"
But even some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns. Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a staunch Trump supporter, said that the situation "gives me pause," while Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, speaking to NBC, said "I don't think it would be appropriate for me to charge people to come into the Capitol and take a tour."
Eisen believes during Obama's presidency, it would have been inconceivable for such an event to take place.
"Conversely, if one of us had suggested it, he would have thrown us out of the Oval Office," he said.
But he does believe that Trump's challenge to the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution will be challenged in the courts. Otherwise, Eisen says, "if this goes unchecked, it will hang a 'for sale' sign on the White House."
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/22/nx-s1-54 ... ner-crypto
