Trump's Controversial Crypto Dinner Is Here

President Trump will be dining at his DC golf club on Thursday, and he won't be alone. With him will be the 220 top holders of his memecoin $TRUMP, reports Reuters.

• One of those guests will be Justin Sun, a crypto entrepreneur who is the top $TRUMP investor of all. He tweeted this week that he is Trump's "TOP fan" and will be at the dinner. The BBC explains why his presence is notable: The SEC under President Biden accused him of fraud and market manipulation, but that inquiry has been put on hold by the Trump administration.

• The dinner—as well as the digital currency itself and the contest that encouraged people to buy them up in order to meet the president—has drawn lots of criticism from those who say Trump is using his presidency to make a personal profit, reports NBC News.
• "This is the Mount Everest of American corruption," Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who will attend a protest outside the dinner, tells Politico. "This isn't about raising money for a campaign. This is about personal profit, and what he's selling is influence on himself and his Cabinet and the US government." The White House, however, dismisses the criticism and says Trump abides by all conflict-of-interest laws. Trump is "working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself," says a spokesperson.
• A New York Times investigation found that most of those who will be in attendance are based outside the US.

(More President Trump stories.)