Can the MEME bill proposed by the U.S. Congressman prevent politicians from "cutting leeks"?

Author:Zen , PANews

On February 27, Rep. Sam Liccardo, a Democrat in California, initiated the first legislation after his inauguration, named the Modern Pay and Malice Enforcement Act (MEME Act), which aims to prohibit senior federal officials from issuing, sponsoring, or promoting securities, commodities or digital assets, and violating those who will be subject to criminal and civil penalties.

"Make corruption criminal again", the new member of Congress borrowed the sentence "MAGA" to open the story.

Directly pointing to Trump and TRUMP, forcing him to "eat and vomit"

The Modern Compensation and Malice Enforcement Act, initiated by Liccardo, has more than a dozen Democratic co-sponsors, and under the draft bill, it will prohibit the president, members of Congress and other senior officials, as well as their spouses and children from issuing or sponsoring cryptocurrencies such as securities, commodities and meme coins. In addition to limiting potential politicians to issue coins to "cut leeks", the bill also requires Trump to hand over all the profits he earned by selling meme coins.

"I think everyone is confused when President Trump starts implementing this plan to raise stock prices and sell off." Liccardo said this behavior was obviously immoral and could not help but ask why there was no clear enough ban. He also added that Trump's meme coin has raised concerns about transparency, insider trading and negative impacts overseas.

On January 18, Beijing time, on the eve of Trump's inauguration, he announced the launch of the meme coin of the same name of Trump. According to the official website of $TRUMP, two subsidiaries of the Trump Group control 80% of the total token volume, with only 200 million initial circulation, and the remaining 800 million will be gradually unlocked in the next three years. After Trump himself verified that "bringing goods in person" was true, $TRUMP soared rapidly, and the full circulating market value once exceeded US$70 billion, with a high of US$80. According to CoinGecko data, as of February 28, the price of $TRUMP has fallen to $11.32, a drop of more than 85%.

According to a survey by Chainalysis, on-chain data analysis company, about 200,000 retail investors suffered heavy losses in the plunge, and retail investors and MAGA supporters who were attracted by Trump's influence became the takeovers. According to Reuters , Meteora, the trading platform launched by $TRUMP, allows creators to "mint meme coins and earn fees for life", while the creators of $TRUMP earned about $100 million by providing liquidity on the Meteora exchange.

Liccardo also compared Trump's meme currency with similar behaviors by leaders of other countries, such as the Central African Republic's Meme currency CAR, and Argentine President Javier Mile's promotion of LIBRA - which made him the focus of corruption investigations.

Impossible New Act

"I can assure you that this is not my plan when I ran for office." Liccardo said the reason for the bill was that the meme coins launched by Trump before taking office last month needed to get some kind of response, and the practice made even cryptocurrency enthusiasts who support Trump feel offensive.

However, Liccardo is also aware of this in Congress, which currently controls the Republican Party, has pointed the finger at Trump's Modern Pay and Malice Enforcement Act. He also said the bill could serve as a "placeholder" that if the Democrats are in power in the future, it could be re-proposed and pushed for passage, and it is also a symbolic protest against the apparent corruption.

“In the future, at least make sure that things like this don’t happen again,” Liccardo said.

But just like laws like the Hatch Act have prohibited government officials from using their positions to influence political campaigns, their effectiveness is actually entirely dependent on the decision of the White House, and perhaps the same is true of the new bill proposed by Liccardo.

There is a federal investigation that during Trump’s previous term, at least 13 former Trump administration officials violated the law, confusing campaigns with government affairs. However, the 2020 election that has passed has shown that, at least for the top administration officials, if the White House chooses to ignore the Hatch Act requirements, the U.S. public will not be protected from using its official power to illegally obtain partisan political benefits.

In addition, Trump's daughter, Ivanka, then a senior adviser, tweeted Goya coffee beans in 2020, claiming that the company was treated unfairly and saying she "full right" to express her support publicly. Government watchdogs criticized her for not having the right to violate ethics prohibiting government officials from using public office to support specific products or groups. The White House did not punish her moral violations.

In contrast, Trump, as president, tweeted the next day to express his love for the Goya brand, and also posted a photo on his Instagram account in an Oval Office with a desk full of various Goya products. Even if the ethics of administrative department employees clearly stipulate that they cannot use their public office to promote private enterprises.

At present, what really prevents politicians from continuing to pour into the coin craze is this already shaky market.