The Wall Street Journal has revealed that four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, lieutenants to an Abu Dhabi royal secretly signed a deal with the Trump family to purchase a 49% stake in their fledgling cryptocurrency venture for half a billion dollars. Trump enriched himself and his family, putting at risk the security of the United States. Trump sold out his country. Here are excerpts from the story.
‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 31, 2026- ... The deal with World Liberty Financial, which hasn’t previously been reported, was signed by Eric Trump, the president’s son. At least $31 million was also slated to flow to entities affiliated with the family of Steve Witkoff, a World Liberty co-founder who weeks earlier had been named U.S. envoy to the Middle East, the documents said.
The investment was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi royal who has been pushing the U.S. for access to tightly guarded artificial intelligence chips, according to people familiar with the matter. Tahnoon—sometimes referred to as the “spy sheikh”—is brother to the United Arab Emirates’ president, the government’s national security adviser, as well as the leader of the oil-rich country’s largest wealth fund. ...
The deal marked something unprecedented in American politics: a foreign government official taking a major ownership stake in an incoming U.S. president’s company.
... Trump’s election reopened the door for him. In the months that followed, Tahnoon met multiple times with Trump, Witkoff and other U.S. officials, including in a March visit to the White House where the sheikh told officials he was eager to work with the U.S. on AI and other issues, according to people familiar with the matter.
Two months after the March meeting, the administration committed to give the tiny Gulf monarchy access to around 500,000 of the most advanced AI chips a year—enough to build one of the world’s biggest AI data center clusters. ...
The agreement was widely viewed as a coup for the emirate’s ruling family, overcoming longstanding U.S. national security concerns and allowing the country to compete with the most powerful economies in the world at the cutting edge of AI advances. Proponents hailed the deal for unlocking a flood of investment into the U.S. and for helping entrench American technology as the global standard.
What wasn’t publicly known: Tahnoon’s emissaries had signed the deal to purchase 49% of World Liberty that January.
... Of the first $250 million installment from the Tahnoon-backed company, called Aryam Investment 1, $187 million was directed to Trump family entities DT Marks DEFI LLC and DT Marks SC LLC, the documents said. In addition to the payout to Witkoff family entities, another $31 million was directed to an entity tied to co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro. The Journal couldn’t determine how the second half of Aryam’s investment, which was due by July 15, 2025, may have been distributed.
... Disclosures on World Liberty’s website showed the Trump family’s equity interest fell to 38% from 75% last year, indicating someone had likely purchased a stake, but the company has never disclosed a buyer.
... “President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, who said his assets are in a trust managed by his children. “There are no conflicts of interest.” She said Witkoff is working to “advance President Trump’s goals of peace around the world.”
Read it all at this link. Disgusting!
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