Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) demanded an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department into World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency firm closely tied to President Donald Trump and his family.

The probe focuses on allegations that WLFI sold governance tokens to entities linked to illicit actors, including North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus Group, Russian operatives, and sanctioned money-laundering services like Tornado Cash.

This marks the latest in a series of Democratic-led efforts to scrutinize Trump’s expanding crypto ventures amid concerns over conflicts of interest, national security risks, and potential corruption.

The senators’ letter highlights a report from the nonprofit watchdog group Democracy Defenders Action, which claims WLFI sold approximately 600,000 WLFI tokens valued at around $10,000 at the time to a wallet address “Shryder.eth” controlled by the Lazarus Group.

This North Korean hacking syndicate has been sanctioned by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for cybercrimes, including thefts funding weapons programs. Additional concerns include: Ties to Russia and Iran: Sales to addresses associated with Russian oligarchs and Iranian networks evading sanctions.

WLFI’s governance token model allegedly allows bad actors to gain influence without proper vetting, potentially enabling money laundering or foreign interference. The requests come as Congress debates crypto regulations that could exempt tokens like WLFI from scrutiny, coinciding with Trump’s 2024 financial disclosures showing his crypto holdings boosted his wealth by millions.

Warren, a longtime crypto critic and ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, emphasized the need for enforcement actions by December 1, 2025, to address “staggering conflicts of interest” in Trump’s administration.

This demand is part of an ongoing pattern of investigations into Trump’s crypto activities since his January 2025 inauguration. Democrats, often outnumbered in Congress, have used letters, hearings, and ethics referrals to highlight potential violations of bribery laws, the foreign emoluments clause, and campaign finance rules.

House Oversight Democrats request probe into Trump’s business ties. Focus on WLFI and $TRUMP memecoin as “profound conflicts” amid pro-crypto executive orders. Cite WLFI’s $2B UAE deal with Binance as “quid pro quo” risking national security.

Request Treasury data on WLFI, $TRUMP, Elon Musk’s America PAC, and GOP platform WinRed for fraud/bribery. House Judiciary demands investor list from $TRUMP dinner. Probe private dinner for top $TRUMP holders as potential “pay-for-play” scheme.

35 House Democrats call for DOJ bribery investigation. Allege $TRUMP dinner violates ethics; note $320M in fees, foreign holders like Justin Sun. Senate probes Trump aides’ crypto-chip deals. Investigate UAE chip exports post-WLFI Binance deal; ethics violations for officials like Steve Witkoff.

Eight senators demand ethics disclosures. Question Witkoff’s WLFI stakes amid Middle East envoy role and UAE ties. Senate launches probe into CZ pardon. Scrutinize Trump’s October 23 pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao after $30M WLFI investment.

These efforts have stalled some bipartisan crypto bills, like stablecoin regulations, as Democrats push for anti-fraud amendments. Critics, including former GOP ethics chair Charles Dent, warn of “foreign entities currying favor” with Trump.

No official White House comment as of November 19, but allies like Binance pardoned founder and UAE partners have dismissed probes as partisan. Crypto advocates argue regulations could stifle growth, especially with Trump’s pro-industry agenda.

If pursued, the DOJ/Treasury probe could lead to sanctions, asset freezes, or new laws targeting governance tokens. However, with Republican control of Congress and the administration, formal action remains unlikely without bipartisan support.

This scrutiny underscores tensions between Trump’s deregulatory push for crypto—projected to add billions to his wealth—and Democratic calls for accountability to prevent illicit finance.

San Francisco is about to become even more crowded with autonomous vehicles as Amazon’s Zoox opens its robotaxi service to members of the public for the first time in the city.

Beginning Tuesday, selected users from the company’s waitlist gained access to free rides in Zoox’s distinctive, steering-wheel-free vehicles as part of its expanding early rider program.

Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said the rollout marks a major step forward. “We have seen incredible interest in Zoox in this market and are excited about this first step to bring our purpose-built robotaxi experience to more people,” she noted.

The company will remove people from the waitlist based on criteria such as location, with the first service zone covering the South of Market, Mission, and Design District neighborhoods. Zoox hasn’t disclosed how many riders will be admitted initially, but said more will be added as the fleet grows.

The company currently operates around 50 robotaxis, split between Las Vegas and San Francisco. It launched a free ride service on the Las Vegas Strip in September, where thousands of visitors have already tried the autonomous shuttles. Zoox says the reaction has been “overwhelmingly positive,” with riders consistently saying they prefer its group-oriented, lounge-style cabin to the feel of a conventional car.

A Different Kind of Robotaxi

Zoox’s vehicles stand out sharply from the rest of the industry’s offerings. Unlike Waymo, Tesla, or Cruise — whose autonomous systems are installed onto traditional car bodies — Zoox manufactures its vehicles from the ground up, removing everything associated with human driving. There is no steering wheel, no pedals, and no driver’s seat. Instead, passengers sit facing one another in a rectangular, gondola-like cabin with large windows and a compact exterior footprint.

The design reflects Zoox’s goal of building a shared mobility service rather than a modified consumer car. The company has been testing autonomous systems in San Francisco since 2017, but the robotaxi now being deployed represents years of reengineering toward a fully purpose-built experience.

A Growing, Heated Competition

Zoox’s arrival slots into a highly competitive and rapidly shifting robotaxi landscape — one that has seen triumphs, setbacks, and aggressive expansion across the past decade.

Waymo remains the dominant player in San Francisco, with more than 1,000 autonomous vehicles operating across the Bay Area as of November. Its fleet consists of Jaguar I-PACE SUVs retrofitted with sensors and computing hardware. Waymo now offers fully driverless rides in five major US cities, giving it the largest footprint of any autonomous ride-hailing service in the country.

Tesla has also moved into the robotaxi space, beginning a pilot program in Austin and the Bay Area. These rides still include safety operators, but the company says it is preparing for a future fleet based on its dedicated robotaxi vehicle, which is still under development.

Uber, after exiting its self-driving program in 2020, is attempting a comeback. It plans to launch a robotaxi service next year using vehicles from Lucid Motors and Nuro, marking a renewed push to compete in the market it once tried to dominate.

Cruise, the most prominent rival to Waymo until last year, saw its rapid expansion collapse after safety incidents forced it to suspend operations and eventually shut down its robotaxi program entirely under GM.

In this context, Zoox enters the field as a fresh but well-funded challenger with a radically different vehicle design — and the backing of Amazon, which bought the company in 2020. That financial muscle gives Zoox more room to scale than many smaller startups that burned out during the autonomous-driving boom.

How Zoox’s Entry Reshapes the Competition

Bringing more San Franciscans into its vehicles gives Zoox a chance to prove it can compete in a city that has become both the testing ground and the battleground for autonomous mobility. The move increases pressure on incumbents like Waymo, which has enjoyed near-monopoly visibility since Cruise’s collapse.

Zoox’s shuttle-like design also adds a new dimension to consumer choice. While Waymo and Tesla offer rides that feel like enhanced versions of traditional cars, Zoox promises a shared, cabin-style environment designed from scratch for autonomy. If San Franciscans find the design more comfortable or social, Zoox could carve out a distinct niche in a crowded market.

The expansion also intensifies competition over data — the lifeblood of autonomous driving. Every ride Zoox provides gives it more real-world training data to improve its systems. That advantage helped Waymo pull ahead earlier, and Zoox is now racing to close the gap.

On top of that, a thriving multi-player market benefits cities and regulators, who hold the belief that robust competition prevents any single company from dominating access, pricing, or public negotiations. Zoox’s rollout helps restore competitive balance in a city that previously saw two major players reduced to one after Cruise was sidelined.