With Probe Gavel in Reach, Blumenthal Warns Binance and Tether of ‘Alternative Measures’

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is set to chair the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) when Democrats take the majority in January. In letters dated Thursday, Nov. 5, he gave four crypto companies until Jan. 4, 2027, one day into the new Congress, to turn over documents voluntarily: World Liberty Financial; Fight Fight Fight LLC, which launched the $TRUMP memecoin; Binance; and Tether.

Democrats won both chambers in the Nov. 3 midterms, and under the 20th Amendment the new Congress meets Jan. 3 unless a law sets another day. Under the PSI’s rules for the current Congress, subpoenas for documents and records “may be authorized and issued by the Chair,” or by a member the chair designates. The ranking member, the post Blumenthal holds now and the title on his letters, is entitled only to notice. Those rules were adopted Feb. 20, 2025, and the rules for the next Congress have not been adopted.

Mike Katz, a partner at Manatt, said on Unchained on the day the letters were dated that he expected targeted oversight from the new majority and that in crypto “it’s going to be focused around the Trump family” and its ventures, naming “the meme coins” and “World Liberty.”

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The letters do not use the word subpoena. Each one says the companies should start producing records by Nov. 30, confirm receipt with staff by Nov. 9, and that missing the January date “will leave the Subcommittee with no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain compliance.” Blumenthal posted on X a day later that the targets of his investigations “should be on high alert.”

Each letter opens by saying the PSI minority has run its inquiry for 18 months and that the recipient has not produced any responsive records.

The Binance letter, addressed to CEO Richard Teng, repeats what Blumenthal asked for on Feb. 24 and April 1, 2026: records on Iran-linked money laundering through two of the exchange’s partners, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, and on alleged retaliation against compliance staff. Binance denied the allegations in a March response, and the April letter said it may have misled the subcommittee.

The Tether letter went to CEO Paolo Ardoino and Tether US CEO Bo Hines. It renews a June request to Ardoino on illicit use of Tether’s stablecoin tied to Iran and Russia, and an Oct. 22 one about Tether’s payments to Nxum. Hines co-founded that consulting firm, the October letter says.

World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff and Fight Fight Fight’s Bill Zanker got renewals of May 6, 2025, requests covering ownership, foreign investment and conflict-of-interest safeguards.

The Nov. 5 release also lists letters to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, to tech companies and other donors to the ballroom Trump is adding to the White House, and to Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr.

Related Listen: Why Sherrod Brown May Not Be Crypto’s Biggest Problem in the Senate

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