WASHINGTON – PresidentDonald Trumpused the presidential seal at his multi-million-dollardinner with crypto investorsdespite the White House saying it was a private rather than official event, according to a social media post from aChinese billionaire who attended the event. Justin Sun, who is worth $8.5 billion,according to Forbes, said ahead of the May 22 dinner that "As the top holder of$TRUMP, I'm excited to connect with everyone, talk crypto, and discuss the future of our industry."His post after the dinnershowed Trump making brief remarks next to a podium with the presidential seal. Trump's official @GetTrumpMemessitepromoted the dinner on May 5, saying, the "President of the United States is having Dinner with his top$TRUMPCoin holders. Who does that? Only The Crypto President." Ethics watchdogs blasted Trump for hosting the dinner that includedformer NBA star Lamar Odomand where investors spent an estimated $148 million on the $TRUMP meme coin to secure their seats, according to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital. About 100 protesters across the street from Trump National Golf Course Washington D.C. in Sterling, Virginia, held signs with messages such as "Stop Crypto Corruption" and "Release the guest list." More:Trump's crypto dinner: Black ties, a Chinese billionaire and ethics questions "This is one of the most blatant and appalling instances of selling access to the presidency I've ever seen," said Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel ofCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Sun and his companies − Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry − in March 2023. But under the Trump administration the SECasked for the case to be put on holdin February to explore a resolution. More:Ex-NBA player Lamar Odom met with boos from hecklers at Trump's crypto dinner White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the dinner was a private rather than public event. "The president is attending it in his personal time," Leavitt said. "It's not a White House dinner." She dismissed questions about the ethics of holding the dinner for people who invested in his crypto coin. "The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws that are applicable to the president," Leavitt said. "The American public believe it is absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting from the presidency." Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump speaks with presidential seal at crypto dinner billed as private
