Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling congressional hearings after a new report revealed that the United Arab Emirates’ top intelligence official secretly acquired a nearly 50% stake in a Trump-era crypto company.
According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, an entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (the United Arab Emirates’ national security advisor and a power broker known as the “spy sheikh”) quietly bought a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration last year.
The deal, signed by Eric Trump, reportedly funneled $187 million directly to Trump family entities, and at least $31 million to entities linked to Trump ally Steve Witkoff, who had recently been named envoy to the Middle East.
The Journal noted that the deal came months before the Trump administration approved the sale of advanced US AI chips to the United Arab Emirates, technology that the Biden administration had restricted due to national security concerns linked to Tahnoon’s AI company, G42.
Senator Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued a statement following the report:
“This is corruption, plain and simple. The Trump Administration must reverse its decision to sell sensitive AI chips to the United Arab Emirates. Steve Witkoff, David Sacks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other Trump Administration officials must testify before Congress about mounting evidence that they sold out American national security to benefit the president’s crypto company, and whether any officials lined their pockets in the process. Congress needs to toughen up and put an end to Trump’s crypto corruption.”
Warren and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) previously called for an investigation into whether Donald Trump, his family and top officials were profiting from foreign cryptocurrency deals tied to access to American technology.
“President Trump only acts in the best interest of the American public,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told WSJ, stating that his assets are in a trust managed by his children. “There are no conflicts of interest.” He said Witkoff is working to “promote President Trump’s peace goals around the world.”
White House counsel David Warrington also told the WSJ that “the president is not involved in trade agreements that might implicate his constitutional responsibilities.” He added that Witkoff takes compliance with government ethical standards seriously. “He has not and is not involved in any official matter that could affect his financial interests,” he said, noting that Witkoff has “disinvested from World Liberty Financial.”
Read More: US Senate’s Warren Calls for Trump-Linked Cryptocurrency Investigation as Market Structure Bill Delayed
