WEBVTT - Part 2: How Trump built a crypto empire out of ‘thin air’

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<v Speaker 1>This is part two of a two part interview with

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<v Speaker 1>tech and power reporter from The Guardian, Nick Robins. Early.

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<v Speaker 1>If you haven't yet, go back and listen to how

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump is reshaping the financial system in crypto's favor.

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<v Speaker 1>It's in your feed now. The opening bell of Wall

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<v Speaker 1>Street is about to ring. I'll ask you one last question.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't like bitcoin, You wouldn't invest in bitcoin? Do

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<v Speaker 1>you invest in the stock market at this moment? So?

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<v Speaker 2>Not?

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<v Speaker 1>At this moment, I think it's high. So I have

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<v Speaker 1>not invested in the stock market at this moment. I

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<v Speaker 1>have in the past, but I have not at this moment.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's high.

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<v Speaker 1>A bitcoin it just seems like a scam. I was surprised, Nick,

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump has very much changed his tune on crypto.

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<v Speaker 1>He once called these assets scams that were based on

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<v Speaker 1>thin air. So why do you think his views have

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<v Speaker 1>changed so drastically.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I think that there's a couple reasons. One is

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<v Speaker 4>that he has started making an awful lot of money

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<v Speaker 4>off of crip, which I think helps change somebody's tune,

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<v Speaker 4>but I'll do it. The other is that he has

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<v Speaker 4>really courted crypto investors and crypto lobbyists have been very

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<v Speaker 4>instrumental in getting access to candidates with pro crypto views.

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<v Speaker 4>I think a big part of this has started years ago.

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<v Speaker 4>I think that you can see late twenty twenty three,

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<v Speaker 4>twenty twenty four, as Trump is mounting this reelection campaign,

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<v Speaker 4>that he begins to look at crypto and some of

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<v Speaker 4>its wealthiest investors as assets that he can court, that

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<v Speaker 4>he can become the crypto candidate, and that he can

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<v Speaker 4>get their backing and endorsement and funds. And so you

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<v Speaker 4>have events like him hosting bitcoin miners at mar A

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<v Speaker 4>Lago and twenty twenty four, so the first.

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<v Speaker 3>Time I ever bitcoin minor set I'm former President Donald

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<v Speaker 3>Trump to try.

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<v Speaker 2>To Orge pill him on the world's biggest cryptocurrency.

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<v Speaker 4>Now, this was an intimate setting. He appeared at Bitcoin

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<v Speaker 4>twenty twenty four on stage in Nashville.

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<v Speaker 1>Hello bitcoiners, thank you very much. Hello, it's good to

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<v Speaker 1>be with you.

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<v Speaker 4>I think that there has been this sort of sea

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<v Speaker 4>change for Trump and for the Republican Party overall, of

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<v Speaker 4>really embracing crypto. It's in no small part because the

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<v Speaker 4>Trump Empire is at this point heavily built on crypto.

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<v Speaker 1>Never sell your bitcoin, well tell me about the Trump

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<v Speaker 1>Crypti EMPOI what does he and He's family been doing

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<v Speaker 1>in this space?

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, I mean they've made a tremendous amount, and it

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<v Speaker 4>is from a variety of different enterprises. They have essentially

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<v Speaker 4>lowlaunched a number of different crypto firms. Some have focused

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<v Speaker 4>on bitcoin mining, others have focused on essentially creating crypto

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<v Speaker 4>tokens and other assets.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome back. World Liberty Financial, officially launching it's WFLI token

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<v Speaker 2>on Monday. Trading is flourishing right out of the gate,

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<v Speaker 2>with value nearly hitting one billion dollars within the first hour.

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<v Speaker 4>The key one to know is World Liberty Financial, which

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<v Speaker 4>in a disclosure recently valued itself at four point five

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<v Speaker 4>billion dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>Were congratulations, This sounds like an incredible moment in time

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<v Speaker 2>for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it definitely is. We launched the WLFI token on Monday.

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<v Speaker 1>It's trading at I believe twenty three billion dollar FDV

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<v Speaker 1>right now.

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<v Speaker 4>They are launching essentially a wide swath of enterprises that

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<v Speaker 4>they can then turnaround and profit from. They have released,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, Trump and Millennia meme coins.

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<v Speaker 3>The value of Donald Trump's meme coin soared this week.

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<v Speaker 3>More than sixty percent, after his team announced that some

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<v Speaker 3>holders of the coin would receive an invitation to a

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<v Speaker 3>private dinner with the president himself.

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<v Speaker 4>They have bought into crypto assets through Truth Social and

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<v Speaker 4>Trump's media company. It's a varied and diversified entrance into

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<v Speaker 4>the crypto world, but it's been incredibly lucrative to them.

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<v Speaker 1>Just how much money are we talking about here exactly?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, the math behind crypto is always extremely complicated, So

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<v Speaker 4>it's easiest to say he's made a whole lot of money,

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<v Speaker 4>But if we wanted to break it down a little

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<v Speaker 4>bit more, through crypto, he has made in the billions.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, there are sales of stock which has then

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<v Speaker 4>been turned around into two point three billion in bitcoin.

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<v Speaker 4>When World Liberty Financial released some of its ability to

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<v Speaker 4>sell stock and made money off of that, it then

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<v Speaker 4>turned around and put that into crypto immediately. That's an

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<v Speaker 4>asset which is verifiable and you know has a fluctuating

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<v Speaker 4>but extravagant value. And so you know, how much has

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<v Speaker 4>he made? Like with everything Trump, it's just buried behind

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<v Speaker 4>a lot of smoke and mirrors and potentially false statements,

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<v Speaker 4>I think we can safely say he's made more money

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<v Speaker 4>off of crypto than any US president has made in

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<v Speaker 4>history off of any other asset, off of any business enterprise.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, they have in the past marketed stakes, they've

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<v Speaker 4>marketed real estate, They've done really everything with the Trump

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<v Speaker 4>name on it. But nothing out of the decades and

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<v Speaker 4>decades of Trump's various business enterprises has been as profitable

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<v Speaker 4>as this new crypto endeavor. You know, we are very,

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<v Speaker 4>very far from Jimmy Carter selling his peanut farm.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up, conflicts of interest around the crypti president being

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<v Speaker 1>a crypti billionaire.

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<v Speaker 5>The top two hundred and twenty Trump meme coin investors

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<v Speaker 5>were invited to a dinner with President Trump at Trump

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<v Speaker 5>National Golf Club in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC tonight.

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<v Speaker 5>NBC News reports that a seat at the dinner costs

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<v Speaker 5>more than one million on average.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we're talking about he really rises questions about conflicts

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<v Speaker 1>of interest. Trump is engaging with investors inventions that have

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<v Speaker 1>reached him. He's also involved in the industry that his

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<v Speaker 1>administration has been dericulating. So what are people saying about

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<v Speaker 1>the ethics of oldies.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, you have a lot of calls from Democrats, especially

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<v Speaker 4>some soundate Democrats, saying that it needs to be investigated,

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<v Speaker 4>that there needs to be more stringent regulation, that he

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<v Speaker 4>can't do this, essentially, that this is such a clear,

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<v Speaker 4>open and shutcase of conflict of interest that it's really

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<v Speaker 4>beyond the pale. And so you have a lot of pushback,

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<v Speaker 4>but you have pushed back from people who are just

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<v Speaker 4>not in power right now and who don't have the

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<v Speaker 4>ability to shut down his executive orders or shut down

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<v Speaker 4>his companies. Certainly there are people who are calling for

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<v Speaker 4>legal avenues to challenge what he can do, but there's

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<v Speaker 4>so far been a lack of direct ability to stop

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<v Speaker 4>what he has been building in terms of a crypto empire.

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<v Speaker 1>And what has Trump and the Ward House said, if

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<v Speaker 1>anything about these concerns are an ethics, I.

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<v Speaker 4>Mean, they have brought out what is generally the usual

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<v Speaker 4>White House line on conflets, which is that none exist.

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<v Speaker 4>They have said that these are fabricated conflicts, that the

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<v Speaker 4>media is ginning these up, and that the president and

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<v Speaker 4>his family do not engage, will never engage, have never

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<v Speaker 4>engaged in conflicts of interest.

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<v Speaker 3>And I think everybody the American public believe it's absurd

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<v Speaker 3>for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off

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<v Speaker 3>of the presidency.

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<v Speaker 4>This president. They also say that the structure of these

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<v Speaker 4>Trump family crypto enterprises, which to be fair, are extremely convoluted,

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<v Speaker 4>are set up in a way that they do not

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<v Speaker 4>have the president's direct fingerprints on them. Essentially, they're saying

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<v Speaker 4>that his assets are managed in a trust by his children,

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<v Speaker 4>and that you know, for all these reasons that it

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<v Speaker 4>is not actually violating any conflicts.

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<v Speaker 1>So the what extend is Trump's and Trump's families interest

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<v Speaker 1>advantages in this industry, impacting Congress's ability to pursue regulation

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<v Speaker 1>because we're talking about separate branches of government.

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<v Speaker 4>He yeah, you've got a situation where he has a

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<v Speaker 4>sort of chilling effect over the party, which is that

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<v Speaker 4>people don't want to go against Trump. So for the Republicans,

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<v Speaker 4>they're not going to rock the boat. They're not going

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<v Speaker 4>to say that, you know, we need more crypto regulation.

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<v Speaker 4>They want to keep him happy, and whatever he's doing

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<v Speaker 4>tends to be acceptable, legal, and defendable. You also have

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<v Speaker 4>to come into contact with the crypto lobby if you're

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<v Speaker 4>running for Congress these days. They have deep pockets and

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<v Speaker 4>they are very willing to use influence to affect various

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<v Speaker 4>congressional races and for Congress, if you're going to go

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<v Speaker 4>against that, then you're setting yourself up with some pretty

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<v Speaker 4>powerful enemies, and you're setting yourself up as midterms approach

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<v Speaker 4>with a lobby that is very happy with the way

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<v Speaker 4>that this administration is carrying things out and doesn't want

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<v Speaker 4>significant change. It does have an effect on the way

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<v Speaker 4>that Congress thinks about this industry.

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<v Speaker 1>So, Nicky, if Trump is using his office for personal gain,

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<v Speaker 1>is there any question here as to whether it's not

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<v Speaker 1>just unethical but potentially illegal and is there any mechanism

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<v Speaker 1>to investigate that at this point in time?

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, I mean, there are questions over whether the setup

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<v Speaker 4>of some of his crypto companies, some of the dealings

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<v Speaker 4>that they are doing, and the way that this whole

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<v Speaker 4>empire has been built could violate any number of either

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<v Speaker 4>government ethics rules or securities and exchange regulations. There are

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<v Speaker 4>broader concerns that people have voiced over whether this is

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<v Speaker 4>potentially violating laws. But you know, these are big questions

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<v Speaker 4>that people should grapple with when the president is you know,

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<v Speaker 4>related to and engaged with very very extensive and very

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<v Speaker 4>very wealthy crypto funds. So that's in the background of

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<v Speaker 4>all of this, and then is there a mechanism to

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<v Speaker 4>investigate that at this point? Well, there are some ways

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<v Speaker 4>that Senate committees and potentially, depending on the jurisdiction, states

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<v Speaker 4>could look into these crypto enterprises. None have really been

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<v Speaker 4>that active yet. That's not something that we have seen have.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, a lot of force behind them so far.

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<v Speaker 1>Fascinating stuff, Nick, Thank you so much for your time.

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you, thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>Also in the news, after years of negotiations, the Victorian

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<v Speaker 1>government has unveiled a new draft bill to implement a

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<v Speaker 1>statewide treaty with First Nations peoples. It's the first treaty

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<v Speaker 1>between First Nations people and any government in Australia. The

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<v Speaker 1>bill proposes that the First People's Assembly be consulted by

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<v Speaker 1>government departments on laws affecting Victoria's Indigenous population, and for

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<v Speaker 1>it to make decisions and rules about specific matters affecting

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<v Speaker 1>First Nations peoples. An Australia Post will resume postal send

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<v Speaker 1>into the US by Thursday, the twenty fifth of September,

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<v Speaker 1>after suspending some services last month amid President Donald Trump's tariff.

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<v Speaker 1>Fragi parcels sent to the US a subject of duties

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<v Speaker 1>equal to the tariffs, which in Australia is the ten

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<v Speaker 1>percent baseline tariff. Australia post as it's working with a

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<v Speaker 1>third party provided to allow business customers a solution. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Daniel James. Thanks for listening to seven AM. We'll be

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<v Speaker 1>back tomorrow