Following is a statement by Virginia Canter, counsel and director for ethics and anticorruption at Democracy Defenders Fund, regarding the announcement that Caroline Pham, Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, accepted post-government employment with the cryptocurrency payment platform MoonPay:

“Today’s announcement that Acting Chair Pham has headed through the revolving door is startling. This is not some anodyne personnel move. Pham had direct regulatory responsibility over the cryptocurrency industry and was at the forefront of implementing the president’s agenda to loosen crypto regulations to favor industry participants, like MoonPay.

“Federal law places strict prohibitions on any government employee taking official action in a matter that could affect the finances of any organization where they are negotiating for, or have an arrangement for, future employment. We are therefore calling on the Department of Justice, U.S. Office of Government Ethics, and the CFTC Inspector General to look into whether Acting Chair Pham violated the criminal prohibition, and the public’s trust, while taking official actions that could affect MoonPay while in government. We plan to issue a formal complaint with those offices in the coming weeks.”

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.