A government agency has been discovered to be responsible for creating a series of web domains meant to promote President Trump’s recent “exclusive invitation” to break bread with the commander-in-chief for top buyers of his new cryptocurrency offering.
The trio of domain names — thetrilliondollardinner.gov, the trillion.gov, and dinnerforamerica.gov — were registered around the same time last week when it was announced that the top 220 “$TRUMP” meme coin holders would be given “The most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World” to a private dinner with the president at the Trump National Golf Club at Washington, D.C.
One of the links even redirected to a Department of Commerce login portal, according to a report from 404 Media.
Web domains with the “.gov” protocol are normally reserved for use by official government entities, meaning that the new web addresses may present ethical issues regarding government internet infrastructure being used for Mr. Trump’s personal profit, according to a government watchdog group.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency confirmed to 404 Media that the three domains were registered by the Department of Commerce. The department did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The New York Sun.
Last week’s announcement of the ultra-exclusive gala drove a spike in “$TRUMP” meme coin sales and their value, which climbed to a high of $16 each and a market cap of more than $2.4 billion at one point.
Earlier this year Mr. Trump’s family took control of a cryptocurrency venture firm, World Liberty Financial, with the president’s brood raking in 75 percent of net revenues from token sales. The Trump family has also reaped up to $400 million in transaction fees.
Donald Trump Jr. also gained a minority stake in a new crypto company, American Bitcoin, earlier this week along with his brother, Eric, who was named the firm’s new chief strategy officer, according to a report from Reuters.
The president has declared himself to be the first “crypto president” and has gone all in on the new form of digital currency, with moves to scale back enforcement and regulations placed on the industry. Mr. Trump often posts on his Truth Social page shilling “$TRUMP” and other digital assets.
The sale of the coins raised concerns among critics concerned that it enables an opportunity to curry favor with the president.
“There has never been a clearer case of a president using their office to put money in their pocket, or greater potential for special interests to buy an administration’s favor that could threaten the public interest,” the executive director of the watchdog group Accountable.US, Tony Carrk, told Reuters recently.
All three websites went dark after last week’s reports of the dinner being offered to the top meme coin holders.