An Emirati royal took a major ownership stake in Donald Trump’s family’s cryptocurrency company days before his inauguration last year — and months before the US agreed to sell advanced AI chips to the Gulf nation, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The secret and unprecedented $500 million deal also involved a payout to the family of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy and a cofounder of the World Liberty Financial crypto venture.
The revelation raised concerns about conflicts of interest in American foreign policy, especially given the scrutiny surrounding the US-UAE chip deal over worries the tech could be diverted to China.
The transaction “should be a five-alarm fire about the federal government being for sale,” a law professor said.