Senate Democrat Seeks Probe of Alleged Sanctions Violations on X
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the Trump administration June 4 to investigate whether terrorists have used Elon Musk's social media platform X to raise money, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
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In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, Warren cited a report by research group Tech Transparency Project indicating that sanctioned individuals from terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Houthis paid for premium X accounts and used the platform's revenue-generating tools. She said X is barred by federal law from conducting financial transactions with such individuals.
Warren also asked Bessent and Rubio to explain how they plan to handle the “deluge” of sanctions evasion she expects if Congress passes the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation in U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a Senate bill that would allow social media platforms to create their own stablecoins. “If tech platforms are not abiding by [Office of Foreign Assets Control] restrictions and the Treasury Department is not enforcing them, the GENIUS Act as drafted will turbocharge sanctions evasion and other illicit activity,” she wrote.
The Treasury Department and the White House didn’t respond to requests for comment on Warren’s letter. X couldn’t be reached for comment.