At a House Financial Services Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) praised law firms resisting President Trump's attacks, and decried Trump's "grift" on crypto.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The gentlewoman from California, Ms. Waters, the ranking member of the full committee,
00:04is recognized for five minutes for questions.
00:11Thank you very much.
00:13Well, before I get started, I'd like to thank Representative Ms. Smith
00:19for being here representing WilmerHale Law Firm.
00:24I'd like to send a message to your law firm that I appreciate fighting back against Trump,
00:32who's attempting to strip the law firm from their security clearances.
00:38Many of our law firms are weak and spineless, and they are succumbing to his threats,
00:46and they're cutting deals that are not in the best interest of this country or other people.
00:53So I thank you for being here.
00:55Let me just start by saying I must highlight over two days Americans lost $6.6 trillion due to Trump's failed tariff policies.
01:05But as Americans wonder how they will afford retirement or afford groceries, Trump is sitting pretty.
01:12In one year, he has doubled his wealth through various crypto schemes
01:15and is using the power of the president to make himself richer.
01:19Ladies and gentlemen, members of this committee, you know that Mr. McHenry and I worked in a bipartisan way
01:28to try to come to some consensus about the guardrails that were needed to protect our investors as it relates to crypto.
01:37But this committee is helping Trump.
01:39Last week, this committee voted to take Trump, make him the king of crypto by passing legislation that lets him corner the market on stable coins,
01:50kick George Washington off the dollar, and make his own stable coin U.S. legal tender instead of stopping this grift.
02:00You're unable it, Mr. Chairman.
02:02Mr. Chairman, we need to stop Trump before he take any steps further on crypto legislation.
02:08In just one year, Ms. Thornton, I'd like to direct this toward you.
02:14President Trump has doubled his wealth from $2.3 billion to $5.1 billion.
02:21His fraudulent meme coin lost investors $2 billion,
02:26while he and his family pocketed at least $350 million.
02:32His complex well of companies and revenue, including the Trump meme coin,
02:37his decentralized finance platform, World Liberty Financial, pending stable coin,
02:43and Bitcoin mining venture, have all massively contributed to his wealth.
02:49I'm deeply concerned that these ventures have created an avenue for interested parties,
02:55whether they are allies or adversaries, to anonymously transfer money to him and his inner circle.
03:02At the same time, it is no coincidence that the Trump administration's Securities and Exchange Commission
03:08has issued guidance saying meme coins, stable coins, and crypto mining are not securities
03:15and therefore are not subject to the agency's oversight and investor protections.
03:20Additionally, this week, the Department of Justice dismantled the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team
03:29and directed the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit to cease crypto enforcement
03:35and not charge regulatory violations in cases involving digital assets,
03:41such as violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
03:44What will these conflicts of interest and dismantled enforcement mean for investors,
03:50especially if the SEC is not overseeing Trump's married crypto businesses?
03:57Thank you for the question, Congresswoman Waters.
04:01I'm not an ethics lawyer, so expert, so I can't comment on that personally about President Trump.
04:08But it is definitely true that this industry continues to have thefts, frauds, hacks,
04:16and that should be very concerning because it raises a lot of risks.
04:20And unfortunately...
04:20Excuse me.
04:21Do you think the President of the United States should own crypto and mine coins
04:29and interfere with us while we're negotiating on stable coins and trying to get guardrails?
04:35Do you think the President should be doing that?
04:37The Commission has...is an independent branch of government that should do what it needs to do,
04:43and it has oversight over this area of legislation.
04:46And it's very important because many of the functions that the other folks on this panel have talked about
04:52are also functions in securities law.
04:55So there are many similarities between what happens in the crypto business and what happens in other...
05:00Do you understand that Mr. McHenry and I were getting very close to some agreements
05:06and having guardrails when we've been interfered by the President of the United States of America?
05:12Do you know that?
05:13I wasn't aware of the interview, but I was aware of the legislation, yes.
05:18Thank you very much.
05:18I yield back.
05:19Thank you very much.