17-5-2025 – Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has lambasted World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture tied to the Trump family, branding its response to a Senate probe as woefully deficient. Speaking on Friday, Blumenthal warned that the firm’s evasive stance masks the potential for foreign entities to wield undue influence over the President through its operations. “The refusal to address even rudimentary questions about President Trump’s financial ties to World Liberty Financial raises profound concerns,” he declared in a statement to Decrypt, vowing to press for greater transparency on behalf of the American public.
The controversy intensified following a letter from World Liberty’s legal team, led by attorney Teresa Goody Guillén, which dismissed the Senate’s inquiries as riddled with “inaccuracies” and “flawed inferences.” While touting the company’s mission to broaden access to financial systems through decentralised finance (DeFi), the response sidestepped critical details about Trump’s ownership stake and the firm’s foreign dealings, failing to provide the operational insights Blumenthal demanded.
World Liberty Financial, a DeFi project enabling intermediary-free trading, lending, and borrowing of digital assets, is steered by Chase Herro, Zak Folkman, the Trump family, and the Witkoff family, longstanding allies of the Trumps. Launched in September amid the US presidential election campaign, the firm raised $550 million through a token sale and introduced its USD1 stablecoin in March. However, its recent ventures—a $2 billion UAE-backed deal facilitated by USD1 and an advisory role to the Pakistani government on cryptocurrency—have drawn sharp scrutiny. Blumenthal flagged these transactions as posing “unprecedented conflicts of interest and national security risks,” citing potential breaches of the US Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which bars federal officials from profiting from foreign governments without congressional approval.
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where Blumenthal serves as ranking member, launched its inquiry earlier this month, spurred by concerns over ethical lapses and legal violations. Across Capitol Hill, Democrats are amplifying the issue, with House members pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for access to any suspicious activity reports linked to Trump’s burgeoning crypto enterprises.
