In a recent letter, multiple Senate Democrats have raised concerns about a potential breach of federal ethics laws due to the US Special Envoy to the Middle East’s failure to divest from his crypto asset holdings.
On Wednesday, eight Senate Democrats, led by Senator Adam Schiff, questioned the US Special Envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, about his digital asset ownership and his links to the Trump Family crypto ventures.
“As long as you maintain ownership of these assets, you stand to profit from any decisions you are involved with while serving in the Administration. Moreover, the public has ample reason to be concerned that your decision-making may also be influenced by your close personal and business ties to the Trump Organization,” the letter read.
The Senators noted that one of WLF’s co-founders, Zak Folkman, previously affirmed that by May 23, 2025, Witkoff had “no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions.” Folkman also added that Witkoff was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI,” which had not happened at the time of the release of White House financial report in August.
To the lawmakers, this underscores the “troubling entanglement” between the US Special Envoy’s official duties and his private financial interest tied to the Trump family businesses, highlighting World Liberty Financial’s $2 billion deal with a United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm involving the company’s stablecoin USD1.
The report also noted a previous article that claimed the elder Witkoff was allegedly involved in the talks between the Trump family and Binance. Nonetheless, these talks have been denied by Binance’s co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
“Your failure to divest your ownership in these assets raises serious questions about your compliance with federal ethics laws and, more importantly, ability to serve the American people over your own financial interests,” the lawmakers stated.
Additionally, they asked the US special Envoy if he had received a written waiver that exempts him from penalties and allows him to participate in key discussions with the UAE while owning a stake in WLFI.
If a waiver has not been granted, they also requested an explanation of how Witkoff’s financial holdings do not violate federal ethics laws and regulations, which prohibit government officials from participating in ventures that could benefit them or their relatives.
Earlier this year, two senators raised similar concerns in a letter to former acting chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mark Uyeda. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers proposed the Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act to prevent crypto-related conflicts of interest four months ago.
