#CryptoNewss WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy on Tuesday introduced the Modern Rewards and Official Crimes Act (#MEME ), legislation that prohibits corrupt federal officials from using their position to profit from digital assets such as meme coins. U.S. Representative Sam Liccardo (Democrat, California, 16th District) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. #MEMEAct
On January 17, three days before the inauguration, President Donald Trump launched $TRUMP , a meme coin or digital asset with no intrinsic value. Initially, the coin was worth just a few cents, but it surged in price after a limited release and temporarily raised Trump's net worth above $50 billion. Every time the coin is issued and sold, Trump earns from trading fees, and he and his family have made over $100 million from these fees. There is no way to know who is buying the coin, which leaves the door wide open for billionaires, Russian oligarchs, and Saudi princes to secretly buy $TRUMP and directly enrich the president to curry favor.
Last month, Trump's team announced that the 220 largest holders of meme coins would be invited to an exclusive dinner with the president, and the 25 largest coin holders would receive a "Special VIP Tour" of the White House. After this announcement, the price $TRUMP skyrocketed by more than 50 percent, and its market value soared to $2.7 billion. Just two days after the dinner announcement, Trump and his allies earned nearly $900,000 just from trading fees.@Cryptoland_8
The MEME Act prohibits the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior executive officials, their spouses, and dependent children from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing securities, futures, commodities, or digital assets. After the issuance of an asset, the proposal prohibits federal officials from engaging in promotion or any behavior that could bring them financial benefit. The bill provides for criminal and civil penalties for violators.
«Trump's meme coin is the most corrupt act ever committed by a president. Donald Trump is essentially publishing his Venmo for any billionaire CEO or foreign oligarch to receive some services by secretly sending him millions of dollars. It’s almost unbelievable until you remember that this president will do everything he can — even sell access to the White House — to get rich. This is abnormal, and we will not let him get away with it,» said Murphy.
«Even more alarming than the kleptocratic actions of this president and his accomplices was the complete silence of the Republican majority. That is why, a few weeks ago, I introduced the MEME Act — to make corruption a crime again. Since then, we have learned about the Trump family's collection of hundreds of millions in fees, about 220 investors #TRUMP invited to an exclusive dinner at the White House, and about Abu Dhabi's $2 billion investment through the First Family's stablecoin. This outrageous corruption must stop,» said Liccardo.#trumpnewstoday
