The Democratic Party is demanding a thorough investigation into Trump's cash flow. On May 14th, local U.S. time, three top House Democrats - Gerald E. Connolly, Joe Morelle, and Jamie Raskin - jointly wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, requesting the Treasury Department provide Congress with a series of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to political fundraising activities.
According to the letter's content, it specifically named the Republican online fundraising platform WinRed and several Political Action Committees (PACs), including America PAC established by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Notably, the letter specifically requested the Treasury Department provide SAR data related to the Trump family's cryptocurrency business World Liberty Financial (WLF) and the meme coin ($TRUMP Coin), emphasizing that this is in response to potential fraud, bribery, corruption, conflicts of interest, and threats to U.S. election integrity:
The committee wishes to clarify whether legislation is necessary to prevent federal candidates and current officials from violating campaign finance laws, consumer protection laws, anti-bribery laws, securities fraud laws, and other anti-corruption regulations during fundraising, and to prevent deceptive and predatory fundraising, illegal foreign influence on federal officials, and other financial misconduct related to federal officials.
Institutions and Matters Requested to Provide Suspicious Activity Reports
WinRed
As the for-profit digital fundraising platform used by the Republican Party, WinRed has been investigated multiple times due to its allegedly predatory and fraudulent operations. Specifically, this includes using default checked mechanisms that automatically enroll donors into recurring payment plans without their knowledge, resulting in continuous deductions.
America PAC
Founded by Musk, reportedly investing up to $250 million to help Trump get elected and spending $1 million nationwide on advertising Trump's political achievements during his term. This seemingly earned Musk political protection and favor from Trump.
Scam Political Action Committees (Scam PACs)
Two scam PAC organizations, including "Patriots for American Leadership" and "Campaign for a Conservative Majority", raised funds through robocalls and used Trump's voice clips, making listeners believe these groups were supporting Trump's re-election. In fact, according to the Campaign Legal Center, these funds were ultimately used for self-enrichment and continuing fraudulent activities.
Trump Family Cryptocurrency Business (WLF)
In September 2024, Trump and his son jointly created the cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial (WLF), launching a non-transferable governance token without ownership or appreciation mechanisms. Experts suggest this could be one of the most severe conflicts of interest during Trump's presidency, especially when the Trump administration strongly advocated for cryptocurrency development and planned to relax related regulations.
The letter mentions that TRON founder Justin Sun invested a total of $75 million. Shortly after, the SEC requested a court to suspend enforcement actions against Justin Sun, seemingly suggesting the possibility of a quid pro quo.
Additionally, in March 2025, WLF announced the issuance of stablecoin USD1. Early in the month, a fund supported by an Abu Dhabi investment company announced it would use USD1 to complete a $2 billion investment transaction in the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, generating massive profits for WLF.
$TRUMP Coin
Trump launched the $TRUMP meme coin on the eve of his 2025 inauguration, described as a "primarily speculative financial asset with extreme price volatility". Entities related to Trump collectively hold 80% of the $TRUMP coin, totaling 1 billion coins, thus able to capture most potential profits. Reports suggest these entities have already earned $100 million from transaction fees alone.
On February 27, 2025, the U.S. SEC announced that the meme coin does not fall under the federal securities law definition of "securities" and is therefore not regulated. Since the coin purchasers' identities remain undisclosed, the source of funds is unknown, raising concerns that malicious forces, including authoritarian countries, might transfer benefits to the Trump family to "gain Trump's favor".
Trump has been controversial since taking office, with his and his family's active positioning and profiteering in the cryptocurrency field drawing strong attention from political and legal circles.
While the Democratic Party's action may carry partisan undertones aimed at attacking Trump and his allies, the disclosed information does expose the possibility of Trump potentially using his presidential position for personal gain. In the future, whether Trump will face further congressional scrutiny or even impeachment proceedings due to these cryptocurrency and political fundraising controversies remains to be seen.
