{"id":129919,"date":"2025-05-24T10:15:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T10:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=129919"},"modified":"2025-05-24T10:15:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T10:15:59","slug":"trumps-use-of-presidential-seal-at-memecoin-event-raises-legal-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=129919","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s use of presidential seal at memecoin event raises legal questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsPresident Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after speaking at a private event for top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin while standing behind a lectern emblazoned with the official presidential seal \u2014 a move that may violate federal law.<br \/>\nThe event took place Thursday at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where Trump addressed 220 investors in his cryptocurrency project.<br \/>\nAccording to US law, the presidential seal cannot be used in any manner that could imply government approval or sponsorship. Violators can face fines or up to six months in prison.<br \/>\nTrump, who arrived at the club aboard a military helicopter, praised attendees and took aim at the Biden administration\u2019s crypto stance.<br \/>\nWhen asked about potential conflicts of interest, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president\u2019s involvement was personal. \u201cIt is not a White House dinner,\u201d she told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s not taking place here at the White House.\u201d<br \/>\nRelated: Pictures give glimpse inside Trump\u2019s memecoin holder dinner<br \/>\nTrump features presidential seal at private properties<br \/>\nThis isn\u2019t the first time Trump has featured the presidential seal at his private properties. Forbes has previously reported its use as golf markers at several Trump-owned clubs.<br \/>\nIn a May 22 letter to the Justice Department, 35 House members\u00a0asked\u00a0the public integrity section acting chief, Edward Sullivan, to launch an inquiry over the memecoin dinner to determine whether it violated the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the US Constitution.\u00a0<br \/>\nUnder the emoluments clause, a US president is barred from accepting any gift from a foreign state without the approval of Congress.<br \/>\nSource: Molly PloofkinsBloomberg\u00a0reported that a majority of the attendees at the memecoin dinner were likely foreign nationals based on their connections to crypto exchanges.\u00a0<br \/>\n\u201cUS law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to US political campaigns,\u201d said the letter. \u201cHowever, 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.\u201d<br \/>\nRelated: US lawmaker introduces anti-corruption bill ahead of Trump&#8217;s dinner<br \/>\nTrump embraces crypto despite previous skepticism<br \/>\nTrump\u2019s embrace of crypto marks a sharp turn from his skepticism during his first term. The $TRUMP memecoin, launched earlier this year, peaked at $74.34 before falling to $14.44 by May 22.<br \/>\nHigh-profile guests at the dinner included Tron founder Justin Sun, ex-NBA player Lamar Odom, and Asian crypto executives Sangrok Oh and Vincent Liu.<br \/>\nSun, who reportedly invested over $40 million in $TRUMP tokens and spoke at the dinner, also has deep ties to Trump\u2019s crypto ventures. He\u2019s the top backer of World Liberty Financial, a Trump-affiliated firm currently under regulatory scrutiny.<br \/>\nMagazine: Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express<a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/trump-presidential-seal-memecoin-dinner-legal-review?utm_source=rss_feed&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"feedzy-rss-link-icon\" rel=\"noopener\">Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsPresident Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after speaking at a private event for top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin while standing behind a lectern emblazoned with the official&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129919"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=129919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129919\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=129919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=129919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=129919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}