What to know : Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding congressional hearings after a report that a UAE intelligence chief secretly bought a 49% stake in Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial for $500 million. The Wall Street Journal found that the deal, signed by Eric Trump, sent $187 million to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to entities tied to Trump ally and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, months before the Trump administration approved advanced AI chip sales to the UAE. Warren and other Democrats say the arrangement raises corruption and national security concerns, while Trump officials insist the president has no involvement in such business deals and that ethics rules have been followed.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for congressional hearings after new reporting revealed that the United Arab Emirates’ top intelligence official secretly took a nearly 50% stake in a Trump-era crypto company.
According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, an entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser and a key power broker known as the "Spy Sheikh"—quietly purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration last year.
The deal, signed by Eric Trump, reportedly funneled $187 million directly to Trump family entities, and at least $31 million to entities tied to Trump ally Steve Witkoff, who had recently been appointed Middle East envoy.
The Journal noted that the deal came months before the Trump administration approved the sale of advanced U.S. AI chips to the UAE—technology the Biden administration had restricted due to national security concerns tied to Tahnoon’s AI firm, G42.
Senator Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued a statement following the report:
“This is corruption, plain and simple. The Trump Administration must reverse its decision to sell sensitive AI chips to the United Arab Emirates. Steve Witkoff, David Sacks, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and other Trump Administration officials must testify in front of Congress on mounting evidence that they sold out American national security in order to benefit the President’s crypto company – and about whether any officials lined their own pockets in the process. Congress needs to grow a spine and put a stop to Trump’s crypto corruption.”
Warren and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) previously called for an investigation into whether Donald Trump, his family, and senior officials were profiting from foreign crypto deals linked to U.S. tech access.
“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told WSJ, who said his assets are in a trust managed by his children. “There are no conflicts of interest.” She said Witkoff is working to “advance President Trump’s goals of peace around the world.”
White House counsel David Warrington also told WSJ that “The President has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his constitutional responsibilities.” He added that Witkoff takes his compliance with government ethics rules seriously. “He has not and does not participate in any official matters that could impact his financial interests,” he said, noting that Witkoff has “divested from World Liberty Financial.”
Read more: U.S. Senate's Warren asks for Trump-tied crypto probe as market structure bill drags
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