Yves here. When Trump unveiled his cryptocurrency venture and meme coin, numerous experts warned that it could create opportunities for bribery. This concern seems to have been a deliberate aspect of the strategy. As detailed below, the New York Times discovered a potential instance involving a $2 billion investment from the UAE. How many similar cases exist? Remember, the Chief Investment Officer of CalPERS resigned after we exposed a comparable conflict of interest, where he owned stock in Blackstone while approving a $1 billion investment from CalPERS into a Blackstone fund without recusing himself.
The conversation on Twitter has sparked significant interest:
It’s surely just coincidence that two weeks after a UAE Sheikh invested *TWO BILLION DOLLARS* in a crypto company controlled by the Trumps and one of Trump’s associates, the US granted that Sheikh access to scarce microchips beneficial to his country. NOTHING TO SEE HERE 🙄 pic.twitter.com/CjSFM7swmT
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) September 15, 2025
One NSC official stood between what appears to be a highly corrupt deal involving the UAE, AI chips, and China. Then Laura Loomer stepped in and had him fired. (She claims it wasn’t related to the chip deal). https://t.co/vxM78eo5fL pic.twitter.com/Y64sq1U4yH
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 15, 2025
US national security experts expressed concerns that the Trump administration’s decision to grant the UAE our most advanced AI chips would ultimately benefit China.
These experts were either sidelined or dismissed.
In contrast, Trump accepted $2 billion from the UAE and provided them with exactly what they sought… $WLFI @worldlibertyfi pic.twitter.com/sRjmPW0ue0
— Derek Martin (@dmartkc) September 15, 2025
Some commentators highlighted the troubling optics as they emerged. Consider the timestamp of this tweet:
Two stories, same day, I’m sure totally unrelated…
(left) NYT: UAE invests $2 billion into Trump crypto coins
(right) Bloomberg: Trump White House may lift restrictions on UAE’s access to AI chips pic.twitter.com/ZM92r6gDIj
— Ian Sams (@IanSams) May 1, 2025
By Brad Reed, a staff writer for Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams
The New York Times reported on Monday that President Donald Trump’s administration granted the United Arab Emirates access to advanced artificial intelligence chips just days after receiving a substantial investment in Trump’s cryptocurrency startup.
According to the Times, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the UAE ruling family, directed one of his investment firms to allocate $2 billion to World Liberty Financial, a startup linked to Trump’s family and that of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Remarkably, just two weeks later, the White House approved the UAE’s access to hundreds of thousands of the world’s most sophisticated and scarce computer chips, which are vital in the competitive pursuit of AI supremacy, despite existing national security concerns regarding these chips potentially being shared with China.
The Times, after interviewing over 75 individuals in its investigation, did not find direct evidence linking the two agreements, and the White House has denied any connection between UAE’s hefty investment in the Trump’s crypto venture and the decision to grant access to the chips.
Nonetheless, three ethics lawyers consulted by the paper suggested that the sequential nature of these deals violated established protocols in the United States regarding political, diplomatic, and private dealings involving senior officials and their families.
The report left many political analysts astounded. Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, commented, “If true, this would constitute the largest public corruption scandal in US history, and by a significant margin.”
Foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen raised concerns about whether Witkoff’s interests in UAE were distracting him from effectively performing his duties in other areas. She speculated, “Perhaps Witkoff is too focused on pursuing deals to enrich himself and Trump’s family rather than finalizing an Israel–Gaza hostage agreement, especially given that Russians show little interest in resolving the Ukraine conflict.”
Alasdair Phillips-Robins, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, expressed amazement at the lack of significant geopolitical concessions from the UAE in exchange for access to the chips. He remarked, “This seems like one of the weakest negotiations ever: offering the UAE unlimited chip access without any substantial concessions in return.”
Independent journalist Jacob Silverman, known for his analysis of the US tech industry’s politics, described the actions taken by the Trump administration as “impeachable” and reflective of profound “corruption.”
In addition to his cryptocurrency dealings with the UAE, Trump has also faced scrutiny for accepting a lavish jet from Qatar’s government, which he plans to utilize for the remainder of his term and will eventually transfer to his official presidential library after leaving office.
