Trump Crypto Dealings Criticism Labeled 'Somewhat Ironic' by White House Advisor: 'Unprecedented' Ethics Provisions Negotiated in Now-Scuttled CLARITY Act

White House cryptocurrency advisor Patrick Witt criticized Democrats for turning President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency earnings into a “political issue” even after "unprecedented" ethics provisions were negotiated into the CLARITY Act.

Trump Agreed to Democrats’ Ethics Demand

During an interaction at the Financial Markets Quality Conference, Witt said the opposition was “somewhat ironic” given that Senators on banking committees themselves hold and actively trade stocks in the financial companies they regulate.

While this is true, Senators are legally allowed to own and trade individual stocks, provided they report those transactions within the required timelines.

“Putting that aside, the president agreed to not one, but two different ethics provisions that were unprecedented in nature,” Witt said.

He added that Trump agreed to ban all federal officials, including himself, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, and to either divest significant cryptocurrency holdings or place them in a blind trust.

‘Aggressive’ Banking Lobby Blamed

Witt also blamed the “aggressive” banking lobby for derailing the cryptocurrency legislation.

He pointed out that if the lobby’s claim were true—that the bill’s failure would mean the death of community banking—then community banks themselves were the biggest losers from the failed vote.