Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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House Speaker Mike Johnson sidestepped calls for transparency on May 25, 2025, dodging questions about President Trump’s controversial meme coin dinner and the guest list, even as 35 House Democrats urged a Justice Department probe into possible corruption.
Johnson said he knew nothing about the May 22 event and declined to say whether the attendees should be disclosed, leaving unanswered questions about ethics and political influence in the growing intersection of crypto and Washington power.
Mike Johnson Deflects Questions on Trump’s Private Crypto Dinner Amid Democratic Scrutiny
In a May 25 CNN interview, host Jake Tapper pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson about a private meme coin event hosted by former President Donald Trump. The closed-door dinner, held on May 23 at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, brought together top investors in the Trump-themed meme coin “TRUMP.” Tapper pointed out that the list of attendees had not been released, raising concerns about transparency and potential foreign influence.
“We do not know who was there,” Tapper noted. “The list has not been released. We do not know how much of the money came from outside the country.”
Speaker Johnson responded without addressing the specifics of the event. “The president has, of course, a huge role to play when it comes to regulating crypto,” he began before redirecting the discussion to partisan comparisons. “I really have a difficult time imagining that if this was a Democratic president doing the exact same thing, you wouldn’t be outraged.”
He continued, “Look, I don’t know anything about the dinner. I was a little busy this past week, as you know, getting the reconciliation package over the line. I’m not going to comment on something I haven’t even heard about. I’m not sure who was there or what the purpose was.”
Johnson praised Trump, calling him “one of the greatest dealmakers of all time.”
Tapper pressed again on the issue, asking, “But on this matter with the crypto, shouldn’t we at least just know who was at the dinner? Wouldn’t you want to know that list of people?”
Johnson again declined to answer directly. “That, I guess—I mean, again, I don’t know anything about that dinner,” he said. “I do know that President Trump is the most transparent president, in the most transparent administration, probably in history.”
Despite repeated questions, Johnson provided no details about the dinner or its attendees, sidestepping concerns that Democratic lawmakers have increasingly voiced.
Democrats Demand Transparency Over Trump’s Crypto Ties
Democratic lawmakers are intensifying scrutiny over Donald Trump’s crypto dealings following the private dinner with top investors in his TRUMP meme coin. They call for a full attendee list, citing potential violations of federal bribery laws and the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which prohibits presidents from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional approval.
A Bloomberg report on May 7 indicated that many attendees were likely foreign nationals. Among the known attendees are Tron CEO Justin Sun, the largest TRUMP token holder and backer of Trump’s crypto platform World Liberty Financial, BitMart CEO Sheldon Xia, and Australian crypto entrepreneur Kain Warwick, who confirmed buying enough tokens to qualify for the top 25 investor bracket.
In efforts to solidify their stance on political-crypto ties, House Democrats led by Rep. Maxine Waters introduced the “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act,” which aims to prevent Trump and his family from profiting from crypto ventures while in or seeking office.
Waters cited Trump’s alleged over $350 million financial gains from the TRUMP token, as well as his ties to World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin, USD1. The bill has support from 14 lawmakers, including Reps. Nydia Velázquez, Brad Sherman, and Gregory Meeks.
Senate leaders are also considering further amendments to the GENIUS Act to restrict public officials’ involvement in digital currencies.
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