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Watchdog: Deeply Crypto-Invested Trump Commerce Secretary Must Recuse from Crypto Task Force If Ethics Mean Anything to Trump Administration

Washington D.C. – Following Politico reporting that billionaire Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “won’t say whether he’ll recuse himself from the administration’s cryptocurrency working group despite acknowledging his [company] maintains ties to the controversial crypto firm, Tether,” government watchdog Accountable.US called on Lutnick to demonstrate some semblance of ethical integrity by immediately recusing himself from the task force.
AT ISSUE: Howard Lutnick’s financial services company, Cantor Fitzgerald, has a major partnership with giant cryptocurrency firm Tether, in which Cantor holds about $600 million and with which Cantor joined a new $2 billion lending project in November 2024. Lutnick is known as a vocal advocate of cryptocurrencies, including statements at an industry conference that the leading form of crypto, bitcoin, should be accepted “‘without exception and without limitation.” Accountable.US’ recent analysis found that Lutnick’s vast stakes in the crypto industry could pose several conflicts of interest with his control of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which plays a central role in developing crypto regulations and in researching crypto technologies. Lutnick’s potential deregulation of crypto for his own benefit could also benefit President Trump himself after post-election announcements of multi-billion dollar stakes in the largely unregulated crypto grift game, including a new Trump crypto meme coin and the expansion of Trump Media into crypto interests.
“The potential for corruption and self-enrichment at the public expense is truly off the charts as President Trump’s billionaire Commerce Secretary is poised to sit on a government crypto ‘task force’ while he and the President have billions of dollars in stakes in the shadowy industry,” said Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk. “Did anyone in the administration pass Ethics 101? At a bare minimum, Lutnick should immediately recuse from this working group given that his family will likely remain tied to the firm and its major partnership with leading cryptocurrency firm Tether. What’s more, Lutnick and the President should immediately provide details on how their personal financial interests in the crypto grift game won’t present a conflict that will harm American consumers and become a vehicle for corrupting foreign and corporate influence.”
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