In a recent letter, several Senate Democrats raised concerns about the potential violation of federal ethics laws due to the failure of the US special envoy to the Middle East to divest from his crypto assets.
US Senators Question Witkoff’s Cryptocurrency Holdings
On Wednesday, eight Senate Democrats, led by Senator Adam Schiff, questioned the US Special Envoy for Peace Missions, Steve Witkoff, about his ownership of digital assets and his ties to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency projects.
In a message subscriber By Fortune US lawmakers have raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest as Witkoff’s latest financial disclosure showed that he has not yet divested of some of his cryptocurrency holdings, including an ownership stake in World Liberty Financial (WLF) and the company’s WLFI token. It is worth noting that the US special envoy is one of the founders of WLFI, along with his son Zach Witkoff and members of the Trump family.
Senate Democrats' letter to Steve Witkoff. Source: Fortune
“As long as you maintain ownership of these assets, you will benefit from any decisions in which you participate 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 said.
The senators noted that one of WLF’s founders, Zach Volkman, had previously asserted that as of May 23, 2025, Witkoff had “no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI’s deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions.” Volkman also added that Witkoff was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI,” which had not happened at the time of the White House’s financial report release in August.
For lawmakers, this highlights the “troubling intertwining” between the US special envoy’s official duties and his own financial interests tied to Trump family businesses, highlighting World Liberty Financial’s $2 billion deal with a UAE company that includes the company’s $1.1 billion stablecoin.
As Bitcoinist reported, previous Wall Street Journal (WSJ) coverage raised similar concerns about the “extraordinary murkiness of government negotiations and private business transactions,” claiming that it is “rewriting the rules of the diplomatic game for some foreign countries looking to gain traction with the new Trump administration.”
In May, the Wall Street Journal claimed that father-son duo Steve and Zach Witkoff had helped blur the lines of private business and public duties of current management, highlighting World Liberty Financial’s deal to enable a $2 billion MGX investment.
The report also pointed to a previous article claiming that the elder Witkopf was involved in talks between the Trump family and Binance. However, these talks were dismissed by Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
Ethical Compliance Inquiries Mt
“Your failure to divest these assets raises serious questions about your compliance with federal ethics laws and, more importantly, your ability to serve the American people at the expense of your own financial interests,” the lawmakers stated.
In the letter, Senate Democrats asked Witkoff to respond to multiple requests by October 31, 2025. Among the questions, they inquired about the status of his financial interest in the Trump-linked cryptocurrency company.
In addition, they asked the US special envoy whether he had obtained a written waiver exempting him from sanctions and allowing him to participate in key discussions with the UAE while he owned a stake in WLFI.
If the waiver is not granted, they also asked for an explanation of how Witkoff’s financial holdings do not violate federal ethics laws and regulations, which prohibit government officials from participating in projects that could benefit them or their relatives.
It should be noted that Witkoff is one of several US officials who have been questioned regarding the US President’s private holdings or cryptocurrency projects. In July, Senate Democrats pressed the new head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over a potential conflict of interest related to the Trump family’s stablecoin, USD1.
Earlier this year, two senators raised similar concerns in a letter to former acting Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mark Ueda. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers proposed the Limiting Official Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act to prevent conflicts of interest related to cryptocurrencies four months ago.
A recent investigation highlighted that, unlike most of his predecessors, President Trump did not place his cryptocurrency projects in a fund managed by an independent party. However, the White House denied any potential conflict of interest between the president’s actions and his official duties.
WLFI trades at $0.12 in the one-week chart. Source: WLFIUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
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