Public Citizen has urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether Donald Trump violated gift solicitation laws by promoting his memecoin.
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into whether former President Donald Trump broke federal rules about asking for gifts by promoting his memecoin.
Public Citizen has made a complaint with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), saying that Trump may have broken a law that stops presidents from asking for gifts from the public.
The group claims that Trump did this when he started his memecoin just 48 hours before he was sworn in as the 47th president of the U.S. The memecoin started at under $7 and later jumped to almost $75, making it one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies for a short time.
However, by February 3, its price dropped below $20. A similar drop was observed in another memecoin linked to his wife.
Public Citizen Reactions to Trump’s Memecoin
The start of the memecoin gained a lot of attention, but it also faced criticism. Some people called it a “shitcoin” and were worried about its tokenomics, especially because Trump owns a lot of it.
In a letter to the DOJ and OGE on February 5, Public Citizen pointed out that 80% of the token is owned by CIC Digital LLC, which is linked to The Trump Organization that is entirely managed by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
Public Citizen argues that even though Trump isn’t providing an investment or a real product, he is still asking for money without giving anything in return. The group says that if a sitting U.S. president can make money from such activities, it could lead to other politicians ignoring laws against asking for donations.
The advocacy group wants a review to see if the memecoin is an illegal request for donations. Public Citizen is asking officials to stop the sale and give refunds to people who bought it.
