Dozens of House Democrats wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday calling for an investigation into possible conflicts of interest and national security concerns related to World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture.
The letter, led by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. and 40 other lawmakers, landed after Bessent testified at a contentious House Financial Services Committee hearing earlier this month. Meeks at the hearing called Bessent a “flunky” of President Donald Trump and raised questions about a $500 million stake that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — a royal from the United Arab Emirates also known as the “spy sheikh” — bought in World Liberty Financial last year.
“The Trump family’s $500 million deal connected to the Emirati royal family is not only a matter of national financial instability, but it also carries serious national security implications,” Meeks said in a statement accompanying the letter. “Trust that the record will reflect whether Secretary Bessent chooses to answer to the American people, or his mob boss.”
The request for a probe was made as World Liberty Financial is seeking a national bank charter, a distinction reviewed and issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent arm of the Treasury Department that regulates banks.
