Elizabeth Warren Spearheads Ethics Investigation Into Trump’s ‘Crypto Czar’ David Sacks

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is spearheading a group of legislators in launching an investigation into new ethics concerns involving White House Special Advisor for AI and Crypto David Sacks.

Warren and Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) are leading Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), and Representatives Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) in probing into whether Sacks has exceeded the term limit of his role. 

In May, Warren also asked the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) for information about the White House waiver that allowed Sacks to advise the Trump administration on technology and crypto policies while maintaining investments in crypto.

Says Warren in a letter to the OGE, 

“Mr. Sacks is financially invested in the crypto industry, positioning him to potentially profit from the crypto policy changes he makes at the White House. He is the co-founder and general partner of a venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, which has been a major investor in the crypto industry.”

Warren and the other lawmakers are now raising fresh ethics issues, saying that Sacks may have already exceeded the 130-day term limit associated with his role as a designated Special Government Employee (SGE). 

The lawmakers say that Sacks’s compliance with the SGE time limit is crucial given the scale of his conflicts of interest.

“Any effort to stay beyond the time limits imposed on you as a Special Government Employee (SGE) would raise additional ethics concerns for you and the Trump Administration, particularly as it moves to implement recently enacted cryptocurrency legislation and put in place new rules for the crypto industry.”

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