Crypto, politics, and big money collide. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Elissa Slotkin are calling for a full ethics investigation into potential conflicts of interest involving White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The spark?
Their alleged involvement in UAE deals tied to World Liberty Financial’s $2 billion investment.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the State Department, Commerce Department, and Office of Government Ethics, the senators cited a New York Times investigation and warned they may oppose digital asset market legislation unless there’s transparency about whether “politically connected crypto interests are undermining our national security.”
Warren, a ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Slotkin, on the Agriculture Committee, are spotlighting potential conflicts that involve both family and foreign financial interests. Witkoff’s son, Zach Witkoff, serves as CEO of World Liberty Financial, while President Trump and his three sons are co-founders.
The senators point out that Witkoff retained financial interests while his son brokered a UAE-backed crypto deal connected to USD1 transactions.
Meanwhile, Sacks allegedly continues to manage a venture fund backed by Emirati money, also investing in USD1 infrastructure. Both officials are said to have played roles in White House decisions to relax national security restrictions on advanced AI shipments to the UAE, raising red flags about overlapping personal and government interests.
“In the history of our country’s foreign policy, one is hard-pressed to find two senior officials with such significant conflicts of interest,” the senators wrote. They stressed these conflicts have no place in U.S. government decision-making, especially while Congress debates crypto legislation.
The stakes are huge: the Trump family reportedly controls 75% of World Liberty Financial’s net token sale revenues and 60% of future business operations, potentially earning $400 million in fees. Eric Trump defended the family’s involvement, framing them as “serial capitalists” forced to lean on crypto after being debanked by traditional financial institutions.
As lawmakers demand answers, this saga underscores the growing intersection of crypto, politics, and foreign investment, and it could have ripple effects on digital asset legislation and national security policy.
