Trump Denies Knowledge of World Liberty Financial Amid UAE Defense

President Donald Trump has defended his family’s financial ties to the cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial, stating he has “nothing” to do with the firm despite being a co-owner. The remarks came in an interview following last week’s midterm elections.

When asked by columnist Ross Douthat why his co-ownership of a company partly held by investors linked to the United Arab Emirates government differed from arrangements he has previously labeled as corrupt when involving the Biden family, Trump responded, “Here’s the difference… I’m gonna tell you why. Because I know nothing about it,” according to a transcript published by CBS News.

Pressed on why he had not divested from the company, Trump explained that most of his wealth is managed by Wall Street firms through index funds and that his sons oversee the family business. “It’s hard to say to them, ‘Don’t do anything anymore for four years because I’m president,'” he stated.

Addressing Douthat’s question about whether foreign investors in the company believed they were purchasing influence, Trump replied, “I don’t know.” He argued that conflicts of interest have been a persistent issue for presidents “going back to George Washington,” adding that previous presidents “own something, whatever crypto was at the time.”

“There’s crypto, and before that there was oil,” Trump said, asserting that “every president has had this problem.” He concluded, “I’m a bigger name than other presidents, whether we like it or not.”

World Liberty Financial’s Operations and UAE Connections

World Liberty Financial, which Eric Trump announced in August 2024, issues the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin. In January, the company launched World Liberty Markets, a lending and borrowing platform built on the decentralized finance protocol Dolomite.

The company’s connections to the UAE have drawn scrutiny from Democrats. Aryam Investment, a UAE-backed entity associated with the country’s national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, agreed to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million just four days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, Decrypt reported in February, citing The Wall Street Journal. The deal, signed by Eric Trump on behalf of World Liberty, reportedly preceded the administration’s decision to lift restrictions on advanced AI chip sales to the UAE. A spokesperson for World Liberty stated at the time that neither Trump nor his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had “any involvement whatsoever” in the transaction, according to ABC News. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) described the arrangement in February as “potentially criminal conduct.” Trump has previously stated he was unaware of the deal.

Legal Battles and Disclosure of Holdings

The company’s UAE ties have also emerged in its legal dispute with Tron founder Justin Sun. Sun’s lawyers requested a federal court to sanction World Liberty, alleging the firm deliberately delayed disclosing UAE ownership that could undermine federal jurisdiction over his lawsuit. World Liberty has characterized Sun’s legal action as a “meritless PR stunt.”

The Trump family’s financial stake in the venture is detailed in World Liberty’s own disclosures. DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity linked to Trump and certain family members, owns approximately 38% of the holding company behind World Liberty Financial. This entity also holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens and is entitled to 75% of the net proceeds from WLFI token sales, according to the company. A separate Trump-affiliated entity has an indirect claim on interest generated by the reserves backing USD1. The disclosures indicate that no member of the Trump family serves as an officer, director, or employee of World Liberty, although Trump’s sons have maintained involvement with the company, as previously reported by Decrypt.