Trump Soliciting Gifts Is a Crime with No Immunity
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump today restated his solicitation for money for what he calls a “Trump meme”, a form of cryptocurrency. The posting on Twitter/X references a “gala dinner” at “Trump National, Washington D.C” (a golf resort) on May 22. In an earlier communication, he promised that the 220 individuals who sent him the most money as part of this meme venture would be invited to attend the gala, which he may or may not attend. Federal criminal law (18 U.S.C. § 201; 5 C.F.R. § 2635) forbids the president from soliciting gifts; as this is not a presidential act, he does not enjoy immunity from prosecution. Public Citizen previously alerted prosecutors and other ethics offices regarding this alleged misconduct, and reiterated this problem in a new letter sent today. Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Trump’s ongoing meme grift squats at the crest of his mountain of conflicts, corruptions, and debasements of the presidency. Those responsible for upholding the law, from federal prosecutors to members of Congress, can only ignore this at the expense of their own personal legacies.”