Published November 9, 2026, at 19:26:27 UTC+8. This article covers reporting from that date.
Donald Trump said he knows “nothing” about World Liberty Financial while defending his family’s stake in the crypto venture, according to a CBS News interview transcript cited by Decrypt.
The interview, conducted after the previous week’s U.S. midterm elections, focused in part on whether foreign investment in the company creates conflicts of interest. World Liberty issues the WLFI governance token and USD1 stablecoin.
Trump’s explanation
Columnist Ross Douthat asked why Trump’s co-ownership of a business partly owned by investors linked to the United Arab Emirates government differed from an arrangement he would call corrupt if it involved the Biden family.
“Here’s the difference […] I’m gonna tell you why. Because I know nothing about it,” Trump replied.
Asked why he did not divest, Trump said Wall Street firms manage most of his money through index funds and that his sons run the family business.
“It’s hard to say to them, ‘Don’t do anything anymore for four years because I’m president,’” he said.
When Douthat asked whether foreign investors believed they were buying influence, Trump answered: “I don’t know.” He argued that presidents had faced conflicts of interest going back to George Washington, saying, “There’s crypto, and before that there was oil,” and that “every president has had this problem.”
The UAE deal behind the scrutiny
Eric Trump announced World Liberty Financial in August 2024. In January 2026, the venture launched World Liberty Markets, a lending and borrowing platform built on the DeFi protocol Dolomite.
Its UAE ownership links have drawn scrutiny from Democrats. Decrypt reported in February 2026, citing The Wall Street Journal, that Aryam Investment—a UAE-backed entity tied to national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed—agreed to buy a 49% stake for $500 million four days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
Eric Trump signed the agreement on World Liberty’s behalf. The deal reportedly preceded the administration’s reversal of restrictions on advanced AI chip sales to the UAE. That reported sequence does not, by itself, establish that the investment caused the policy change.
A World Liberty spokesperson said at the time that neither Trump nor Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had “any involvement whatsoever” in the transaction, according to ABC News. Trump has previously said he was unaware of the deal.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) described the arrangement in February as “potentially criminal conduct”—an allegation, not an established legal finding.
The ownership issue has also surfaced in litigation brought by Tron founder Justin Sun. His lawyers asked a federal court to sanction World Liberty, alleging that it delayed disclosing UAE ownership that could defeat federal jurisdiction over his lawsuit. World Liberty dismissed Sun’s legal campaign as a “meritless PR stunt.”
What the company discloses
World Liberty’s own disclosures describe substantial Trump-family financial interests:
- DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity affiliated with Trump and certain family members, owns about 38% of World Liberty’s holding company.
- That entity holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens and is entitled to 75% of net proceeds from WLFI token sales.
- A separate Trump-affiliated entity has an indirect claim on interest earned on the reserves backing USD1.
The disclosures also state that no Trump family member is an officer, director or employee of World Liberty. Decrypt nevertheless reported earlier in 2026 that Trump’s sons remained involved with the company.
The central distinction is between those disclosed financial interests and the unresolved questions about involvement and influence. Trump’s stated lack of knowledge does not negate the disclosed stake, while the reported investment and political criticism do not establish that foreign investors purchased policy favors.