On July 30, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced an anti-corruption bill that proposes establishing an independent federal agency to investigate and prosecute corruption within the executive branch. The bill cites Trump's disclosure of substantial crypto-related income as one of its background elements, once again bringing the issue of presidential crypto-related conflicts of interest into the spotlight in Washington.
The bill proposes to integrate three oversight agencies.
The proposal is titled the "Corruption Bureau Establishment Act." The envisioned new agency would integrate the Federal Election Commission, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Office of the Special Counsel, and would be comprised of a seven-member board confirmed by the Senate, with subpoena, enforcement, and public reporting powers.
The bill also allows state attorneys general and private plaintiffs to pursue funds allegedly obtained through corruption and proposes the establishment of an independent funding pool to finance the agency's operations. To prevent prolonged vacancies from impacting operations, the bill also includes a mechanism for temporary intervention by federal appeals courts.
Trump discloses multiple crypto-related revenues
According to Trump's certified financial disclosure documents, the documents list numerous crypto-related income and transaction amounts. These include $635.1 million in royalties from Celebration Coins, hundreds of millions of dollars in projects related to World Liberty Financial token sales, equity transactions, and crypto wallets, and another $196.9 million related to a stablecoin-related holding company.
According to publicly disclosed figures, the aforementioned crypto-related items total over $1.4 billion. However, these figures reflect reported revenue and transaction amounts, and do not equal net profit under tax returns. Previous disclosures also showed that by 2025, revenue from the crypto business had already surpassed that from Trump's resorts and other real estate businesses.
White House denies conflict, bill's future remains uncertain
The bill also mentions that the Trump family holds a crypto fund linked to a foreign government exceeding $1 billion, and cites reports of the UAE supporting investments in World Liberty Financial. This content constitutes a legislative finding and allegation within the bill, not a corruption ruling already made by a court.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated that Trump's investments are managed by independent third-party financial institutions in discretionary accounts, therefore there is no conflict of interest. Trump himself has also stated that he does not directly manage his personal finances during his presidency.
Judging from the legislative progress, this bill is still in its early stages. In the full text released on July 31, the Senate bill number is still a placeholder. The initial sponsors are only four Democratic senators, with no Republican co-sponsors yet. For the bill to take effect, it still needs to pass both the House and Senate votes and be sent to Trump for his signature.
Additional information:This proposal is also intertwined with the Senate debate surrounding the "Clarity of the Digital Asset Markets Act." Elizabeth Warren argues that existing ethical provisions are insufficient to limit the president's holdings of crypto interests, while supporters are still pushing for bipartisan negotiations.
