White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that President Donald Trump is attending a dinner with the largest investors in his cryptocurrency meme coin in his “personal time” during Thursday’s press briefing.

On Thursday night, Trump will host the top 220 holders of his meme coin for a dinner at his golf club outside of Washington, D.C.. The top 25 investors will also enjoy an “ultra-exclusive” private VIP reception with him.

The meeting has drawn scrutiny — including from The Wall Street Journal editorial board — for a variety of reasons. Trump launched the coin just before moving back into the White House, and investors’ identities are not publicly known, though it has been reported that a majority of the top 220 and a supermajority of the top 25 bought their holdings on foreign exchanges.

“This suggests most of the top buyers are foreigners. Might they be seeking a seat at the President’s table to influence U.S. policy, especially in foreign affairs? Mr. Trump claims he’s not doing anything wrong by holding the dinner. But even if he’s not violating any laws, the contest creates the risk of ethical conflicts,” observed the Journal in its recent editorial on the matter

At Thursday’s press briefing, Garrett Haake of NBC News observed,  “Karoline, you guys are very proud of your record on transparency,” before asking, “On the president’s dinner tonight, will the White House commit to making a list of the attendees public so people can see who’s paying for that kind of access to the president?”

Leavitt answered:

Well, as you know, Garrett, this question has been raised with the president. I have also addressed the dinner tonight. The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner, it’s not taking place here at the White House. But certainly I can raise that question and try to get you an answer for it.

Watch above via Fox News.

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