Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has pushed back sharply against a New York Times investigation questioning whether his policymaking role in the Trump administration overlaps with his private investments.
In a post on X, Sacks accused the outlet of pursuing a predetermined narrative and ignoring months of evidence he said disproved its claims.
Sacks Rejects NYT Conflict Claims, Calls Narrative “False” and “Misleading”
The New York Times published its report on Sunday, outlining how Sacks’s wide portfolio of technology and crypto investments could benefit from policy decisions he has helped shape as a special government employee.
The article detailed Sacks’s involvement in the administration’s artificial intelligence strategy, his meetings with Silicon Valley executives, and his long-standing ties to major tech founders.
Sacks responded by calling the story the result of a five-month effort to construct a “hoax.” In his post, titled “INSIDE NYT’S HOAX FACTORY,” he said a team of reporters repeatedly shifted the focus of their accusations after he provided evidence disputing earlier claims.
“Today they evidently just threw up their hands and published this nothing burger,” Sacks wrote.
According to Sacks, the Times’ allegations included a “fabricated dinner” with a major tech executive, supposed promises of presidential access, and claims that he influenced defense contracts.
Each, he said, was “debunked in detail,” yet the investigation continued. He also criticized the paper for including only selected portions of responses he and his team had provided over several months.
Sacks said the Times ignored key information that contradicted its framing. “At no point… was NYT willing to update the premise of their story to accept that I have no conflicts of interest to uncover,” he wrote.
The Crypto Czar said he eventually hired the law firm Clare Locke, known for its defamation work, after concluding the Times was not pursuing a fair process.
He attached the firm’s letter to the newspaper, saying the document provided “full context” for the exchanges.
NYT Highlights Sacks’s Expanding Influence in Trump Administration’s Tech Agenda
Sacks is best known as a co-founder and partner at Craft Ventures, a firm with hundreds of technology investments across software, crypto, and artificial intelligence.
His government role, unpaid and structured under the “special government employee” designation, has faced scrutiny since early this year.
In May, Senator Elizabeth Warren said Sacks was “financially invested in the crypto industry,” which she argued could allow him to benefit from policy changes developed inside the White House.
While The Times report described Sacks as one of the most influential technology figures in the Trump administration and highlighted his role in drafting the administration’s AI Action Plan and hosting high-profile industry forums, the report detailed concerns raised by some officials about an AI summit Sacks helped plan in July.
The event was initially expected to be hosted by the “All-In” podcast, which Sacks co-anchors.
According to the Times, some White House staff were worried that sponsorship packages connected to the podcast would create the appearance of selling access. The arrangement was later changed, the report said.
The Times also examined Sacks’s broad investment portfolio, which includes his long-standing network within Silicon Valley, where he has invested alongside figures such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel for more than two decades.
His ethics waivers, issued in March, noted that he had sold or begun selling many of his crypto and AI assets.
The waivers also said his remaining holdings were “not so substantial” as to influence his government work. However, the Times said the filings do not provide details on the timing of those divestments.
Notably, Sacks’s own spokesperson said the narrative of conflicts of interest was “false,” adding that his work for the government has cost him financially rather than benefited him.
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