Making money off the backs of Americans

Making money off the backs of Americans I am writing to urge Congress to investigate the adequacy of current laws and regulatory oversight as they relate to President Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, particularly the $TRUMP memecoin, in light of financial disclosures and independent analysis released this week. According to a July 4, 2026 New York Times report (Lipton and Yaffe-Bellany), nearly 1 million people who bought the $TRUMP memecoin have lost money through the end of June 2026, with total losses of $3.81 billion, based on a report by the cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen. The same report notes that most retail investors lost money while sophisticated traders profited. This assessment followed President Trump’s annual financial disclosure, which showed he personally received a $636 million payout from the same coin, part of at least $2.2 billion in income from his business ventures in 2025. The coin’s structure meant Trump profited whether its price rose or fell, since he collected a share of returns on every trade. He actively promoted the coin to the public, including in a January 18, 2025 post: “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW.” Taken together, these facts describe a sitting president promoting a financial product to the public that has resulted in billions of dollars in losses for nearly a million buyers, most of them retail investors, while he personally profited on every transaction. This self-dealing structure appears to have exploited public trust in the presidency for private financial gain, raising serious questions as to whether existing investor-protection and financial-disclosure laws are adequate to address a president’s personal financial products. I request that Congress open an investigation into whether current law adequately addresses a sitting president’s ability to personally profit from financial products marketed to the public using the authority and visibility of the office, specifically in light of the fact that that since arriving at the White House, Mr. Trump and appointees have curtailed regulatory oversight, including policies related to memecoins.   Thank you for your attention to this matter.