A war of words is escalating between Senate Democrats and executives at the crypto firm that is partly owned by President Trump’s family, as congressional leaders seek more information about ways in which the first family may be seeking to blend profit with official government action, CBS News has learned.
In an exchange of polite but pointed letters, Senate Democrats demanded more details about a multibillion-dollar transaction between the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, and a pool of investors that includes foreign nationals. And the senators questioned the firm on its launch of a “stablecoin,” a crypto product backed directly by U.S. currency.
“The launch of a stablecoin directly tied to a sitting President who stands to benefit financially from the stablecoin’s success is an unprecedented conflict of interest presenting significant threats to both our financial system and our democracy,” Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon write in the June 10 letter.
The increased attention comes as the Senate is set to vote on the GENIUS Act, which would adopt a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. Stablecoins, which are pegged to a certain value — typically the U.S. dollar — are designed to be less volatile than other crypto products. This makes it an attractive asset for users who want to move between cryptocurrencies more efficiently.
Warren and Merkley requested financial records related to the $2 billion investment in World Liberty made by MGX, an Emirati firm, and the involvement in the business deal by Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, controlled by a Singaporian national.
The letter is addressed to the CEOs of Binance and MGX, and it asks these firms to preserve communications between Binance officials, MGX, World Liberty Financial, the White House and other U.S. federal government agencies. It also requests communications between specific individuals including President Trump, his sons Barron, Eric and Donald Jr.; Zack and Alex Witkoff, co-founders of World Liberty Financial, and their father Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy to the Middle East.
The senators’ request is in response to a letter sent by World Liberty on May 29, in which the company’s lawyers dispute allegations that MGX’s $2 billion investment into Binance through World Liberty Financial improperly benefits the Trump family.
“What the Company rejects is the suggestion that legitimate financial innovation—especially innovation that strengthens U.S. competitiveness—should be treated with suspicion simply because it succeeds,” says the letter from World Liberty’s lawyers, reviewed by CBS News.
CBS News reached out to the White House for comment about potential conflict of interest but did not hear back at the time of publication.
Trump family’s business interests in crypto
In the last six months, the Trump family has rolled out a series of announcements related to its business interests in crypto.
In the fall of 2024, the Trumps announced World Liberty Financial, a crypto exchange that says on its website it was “inspired” by Mr. Trump, who is listed as “chief Crypto Advocate,” while his three sons are listed as “Web3 Ambassadors.”
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images 
Months later, they announced both the $TRUMP coin and $MELANIA coin, crypto tokens known as “meme coins,” whose value is largely driven by social media buzz. This type of cryptocurrency is not usually used in transactions and is known for erratic price shifts. $TRUMP peaked at around $75 shortly after launch and plummeted to under $8 by April 2025 before rebounding a bit to about $11.
Both crypto ventures have been financially beneficial to the president’s family, which receives a share of transaction fees, regardless of how the currency is valued.
The fine print on the World Liberty Financial’s website says an entity affiliated with Mr. Trump and his family members own a 60% stake in the company. According to the company’s public reports, a Trump family entity “DT Marks DEFI LLC” also holds 22.5 billion of the $WLF tokens and takes an additional 75% in net revenue from future token purchases.
On May 23, the president hosted a gala dinner for the top holders of his $TRUMP coin, where attendees spent an average of $1 million a person to mingle with Mr. Trump at his Virginia golf course. Data from analytics firm Chainalysis shows that entities connected to Mr. Trump and other backers collected more than $300 million in transaction fees related to $TRUMP coin in the lead-up to the dinner.
In April, World Liberty Financial launched a new stablecoin product called “USD1,” which is backed by U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents. MGX agreed to purchase $2 billion worth of this currency to finance a deal with Binance.
“Why — beyond the obvious benefit of gaining favor, directly or indirectly, with the Trump Administration — did you select USD1, a newly-launched, untested cryptocurrency with a no track record?” Senators Warren and Merkley ask in their letter to the MGX and Binance CEOs.
World Liberty Financial has maintained that stablecoins, including their USD1 product, help bolster the strength of the dollar.
“[USD1] is a stablecoin designed to assist in modernizing global access to the U.S. dollar and to enhance American monetary leadership by helping preserve the U.S. dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency at a time when rival currencies and closed financial systems are gaining ground,” the company said in its May 29 letter.
The company’s letter states that if the MGX deal had not been conducted in USD1, it would have been settled in a foreign currency, most likely UAE dirhams. Instead, it argues, keeping transactions in USD1 reinforces demand for the dollar.
“Absent USD1, that capital would have exited the U.S. financial sphere entirely and moved offshore,” says the letter.
But Warren and Merkley say the deal raises questions about potential efforts to curry favor with the president’s family.
The Senate voted to pass the GENIUS Act on Tuesday, 68 to 30. it would allow the federal government to issue licenses for stablecoin issuers and require those products to be backed by U.S. dollars or other cash equivalents.
Supporters of the bill say it’s a critical moment to introduce federal regulation over an increasingly popular investment tool.
But critics like Warren say the bill does not go far enough to strengthen oversight over an industry that the president’s family benefits from directly.
“A bill that turbocharges the stablecoin market, while facilitating the President’s corruption and undermining national security, financial stability, and consumer protection is worse than no bill at all.” she said in a Senate floor debate on May 19.
In May, Senate Democrats pushed to include an amendment that would specifically prevent a sitting president and his family from making money from stablecoin products. Ultimately, this amendment was not included and the bill advanced by a vote of 66 in favor and 22 opposed, with 16 Democrats joining Republicans to support it.
Proponents of the bill aim to have it on the president’s desk by July.
