The White House has refuted any connection between the Trump administration’s AI agreement with the United Arab Emirates and World Liberty Financial.
This response follows demands from Senate Democrats for hearings regarding the reported links between the Trump family-supported cryptocurrency venture and Abu Dhabi.
In a statement shared with BeInCrypto, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly indicated that the UAE AI agreement was intended to strengthen a strategic technological alliance between Washington and Abu Dhabi.
“The Trump administration’s landmark agreement to bolster the collaboration between the United States and the United Arab Emirates on artificial intelligence was crafted to ensure the global AI ecosystem will be built with American chips and utilize American models, all while securing substantial UAE investments into the United States,” Kelly stated.
Democrats Push for Hearings
Five Senate Democrats urged Republican committee chairs this week to conduct hearings into World Liberty Financial and foreign cryptocurrency deals associated with Trump, his family, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The request came after reports surfaced that an UAE-affiliated investment entity agreed to purchase a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for approximately $500 million shortly before Trump resumed office.
The legislators argued that the timing raised concerns about whether foreign-linked funds flowing into a Trump family crypto venture overlapped with subsequent US policy decisions involving the UAE.
The White House dismissed that connection outright.
“This has everything to do with what is best for the United States and nothing to do with World Liberty Financial – President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, and Special Envoy Witkoff has completely divested from the company,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
White House Asserts AI Deal Advances US Interests
The White House presented the UAE agreement as a matter of national security and industrial policy, rather than a private business affair.
Kelly said the agreement “contains historic commitments by the UAE to further align their national security regulations with the United States, including robust protections to prevent the diversion of US-origin technology.”
This aspect lies at the heart of the controversy.
Democrats contend that the UAE’s involvement in World Liberty Financial warrants scrutiny because the administration later authorized sensitive technology and policy benefits involving Abu Dhabi.
The White House maintains that the AI agreement advanced US strategic interests and included safeguards for American technology.
Ethics Concerns Stay at the Forefront
White House Counsel David Warrington also dismissed the suggestion that Trump’s private business interests influenced official policy.
“The President has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his constitutional responsibilities. President Trump performs his constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner and to suggest so otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious,” Warrington stated.
World Liberty Financial has emerged as a political flashpoint because it sits at the crossroads of cryptocurrency, foreign capital, and Trump family business interests.
The reported UAE-linked investment has drawn attention because Abu Dhabi has also played an expanding role in AI, semiconductors, and digital assets. UAE-backed MGX was separately connected to a $2 billion Binance deal that utilized World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin.
Democrats have leveraged those connections to argue that Congress should investigate whether foreign actors gained influence through crypto-linked transactions.
The White House maintains that the argument is politically motivated.
“These Democrats are hellbent on pushing the same, tired narrative that they have used to attack President Trump, his family, and his administration for a decade, even after Americans rejected their lies by re-electing the President to office,” Kelly said.
Witkoff Denies Involvement in G42 Discussions
The senators have also scrutinized Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy for Peace Missions, due to his family’s connection to World Liberty Financial.
Warrington stated that Witkoff adhered to ethics rules and had stepped away from the company.
“Mr. Witkoff, like all Administration officials, takes seriously his compliance with the government ethics rules. As Special Envoy for Peace Missions, he has not and does not participate in any official matters that could impact his financial interests. He has also divested from World Liberty Financial, notwithstanding his ability and willingness to recuse,” Warrington stated.
A source close to Witkoff, speaking on background, said his children operate World Liberty Financial and that he had no role in the company.
“Steve’s children run World Liberty Financial. Steve has nothing to do with it. The business was started one year before the presidential election. As we have said numerous times, Steve was not involved in negotiations related to G42. He was only briefed on these discussions, which is totally appropriate given his role at the time as Special Envoy to the Middle East. Like President Trump, all of Special Envoy Witkoff’s actions have been for the benefit of the American people,” the source stated.
The remarks leave the core dispute unresolved.
Democrats seek sworn testimony and committee hearings into whether World Liberty Financial’s foreign-linked deals created conflicts within the administration.
The White House says the UAE AI agreement had no connection to the firm and that both Trump and Witkoff were separated from relevant business interests.
For now, the battle has shifted from cryptocurrency markets into congressional oversight.
The post White House Denies Trump Crypto Link to UAE AI Deal After Senate Democrats Demand Hearings appeared first on BeInCrypto.
