Attorney General Pam Bondi tussled with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Wednesday as he pressed the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) over foreign influence concerns related to President Trump’s meme coin dinner.
Merkley has repeatedly voiced concerns about Trump’s involvement in the crypto space, including the dinner the president hosted for the top 220 investors in his $TRUMP token last month.
“I want to know if, when the president held his dinner for 220 individuals who purchased the most of his meme coins, were there foreign interests attending that dinner?” he asked Bondi, who appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
At least one notable foreign figure attended the dinner: Tron founder Justin Sun, who bought millions of dollars’ worth of Trump’s meme coin.
The attorney general pushed back on Merkley’s question, underscoring that she was there before the panel to discuss her agency’s budget.
“Senator, we’re here to talk about the Department of Justice and my budget for the upcoming year,” she said. “I would think that you would want to talk about the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was living in Oregon, one of the top leaders. I would think that that’s what you would want to talk about with me.”
Bondi appeared to be referring to the arrest of a man from Salem, Ore., last month, who is accused of leading a drug trafficking operation with connections to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Merkley accused the attorney general of avoiding his question, arguing that those who attended Trump’s dinner sought to influence U.S. policy.
“This solicitation of investments in his personal product, his meme coin, led to many people who were coming from foreign countries attending that dinner,” he said. “Don’t you think the American people have a right to know? You said yourself you’re very concerned about foreign influence on our government.”
She, in turn, slammed Merkley’s comments as “wildly offensive.”
“Senator, it is wildly offensive that you would accuse President Trump of not protecting American interests in our country, when he is the president that has shut down our borders, unlike Joe Biden,” Bondi said.
“President Trump has done everything to make America safe and … keep America safe,” she added. “You’re trying to play a gotcha question at a budget hearing when you have murders left and right in your state, violent crimes, and we are doing everything we can to help your liberal state.”
Merkley also raised concerns about the stablecoin released by World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture launched by Trump and his sons last fall. The stablecoin was used to complete a high-profile $2 billion transaction between an Emirati firm and the crypto exchange Binance.
Trump and his family have continued to expand their involvement in the industry throughout his second term, as his administration pushes to pass long-sought digital asset legislation.
Beyond World Liberty Financial and the meme coin, Trump Media & Technology Group has also moved into the crypto space, raising $2.5 billion to create a bitcoin reserve and preparing to launch several new crypto-related assets.
