#CryptoNewss WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy on Tuesday introduced the Modern Rewards and Official Misconduct Act (#MEME ), legislation that prohibits corrupt federal officials from using their position to profit from digital assets like 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 skyrocketed in price after a limited release and temporarily boosted Trump's net worth above $50 billion. Every time the coin is issued and sold, Trump earns trading fees, and he and his family have made over $100 million from these fees. There’s no way to know who buys the coin, leaving 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 surged more than 50 percent, and its market value soared to $2.7 billion. Just two days after the dinner announcement, Trump and his allies made nearly $900,000 just in trading fees.
The MEME Act prohibits the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior executive branch officials, their spouses, and dependent children from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing securities, futures, commodities, or digital assets. After the issuance of the asset, the proposal prohibits federal officials from engaging in promotion or other behavior that may yield them a 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 get some favors by secretly sending him millions of dollars. It's almost unbelievable until you remember that this president will do anything — even sell access to the White House — to get rich. This is abnormal, and we won't let him get away with it," said Murphy.
"Even more alarming than the kleptocratic actions of this president and his henchmen was the complete silence of the Republican majority. That's why a few weeks ago I introduced the MEME Act — to once again make corruption a crime. Since then we've learned about the Trump family's collection of hundreds of millions in fees, about 220 investors 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 end," said Liccardo.
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