Public Citizen Accuses Trump of Legal Violations With Memecoin Promotion

Public Citizen, a prominent U.S. nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, has filed a formal complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), demanding a federal investigation into President Donald Trump over his promotion of the Solana-based memecoin TRUMP.

The complaint alleges that this promotion constitutes a violation of laws prohibiting the solicitation of gifts and raises serious concerns about the potential for untraceable foreign payments.

Trump Allegedly ‘Soliciting’ Gifts With Memecoin

The complaint, filed on Wednesday, points to President Trump’s social media posts following his inauguration in January. These posts, according to Public Citizen, “actively promoted the TRUMP token.” The organization argues that this constitutes a clear instance of the President soliciting monetary contributions in exchange for nothing of tangible value, effectively requesting a personal gift.

Furthermore, the complaint highlights significant constitutional concerns, focusing on the potential for the TRUMP token to obscure foreign payments, a practice explicitly prohibited by the Emoluments Clause.

“The Constitution (Article 1, Section 9) prohibits the acceptance of gifts or emoluments from foreign kings, princes, or states. This raises concerns regarding cryptocurrency transactions, as it’s difficult to determine whether purchases of, for example, a Trump meme constitute gifts from foreign state actors to the president. Therefore, we recommend a thorough investigation into this matter.”

A crucial aspect of the complaint centers on the token’s ownership structure, which the complaint documents addressed.

“The TRUMP token’s website discloses that 80% of its holdings are controlled by CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of the Trump Organization and ultimately held within a revocable trust for which President Trump is the sole beneficiary. Visualizations of token transfer activity, provided by Bubblemaps, corroborate this ownership concentration, clearly depicting a single entity holding the vast majority of the token’s supply.”

Trump Token Price Trajectory

The recent market performance of the TRUMP token has also been cited in the complaint. The token has experienced a significant 32% decline in value over the past week. Notably, the downtrend could be attributed to a broader cryptocurrency market downturn and increased volatility directly linked to President Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico.

While tariffs on Canada and Mexico have subsequently been rescinded, a 10% levy on Chinese imports remains in effect, provoking retaliatory tariffs from China targeting various U.S. exports.