Karoline Leavitt Gets Brutal Reminder After Claiming Trump Attended Crypto Dinner On His 'Personal Time'

Attorney George Conway gave White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt a pointed reminder about President Donald Trump's immunity after she claimed that Trump’s $148 million meme coin dinner was held on his "personal time."

Trump hosted a private dinner Thursday evening at Trump National Golf Club in northern Virginia for 220 cryptocurrency investors who had bought into a meme coin bearing his name—an event that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny over concerns of monetizing political access.

Attendance was limited to the top 220 holders of the $TRUMP coin, with blockchain analytics firm Nansen reporting an average individual investment of $1.8 million. The identities of many attendees remain undisclosed.

When asked by a reporter whether the White House will commit to transparency and make "a list of the attendees public so people can see who is paying for" access to the president, Leavitt gave the following response:

"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's 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."

You can hear what she said in the video below.

Shortly afterward, in a response to Tim Miller—the host of The Bulwark Podcast, who said "personal time" is "not like a magic suit you wear when you are doing official business and one where you are just Donald from Queens"—Conway rejected Leavitt's characterization of the matter.

Conway specifically referenced last year's 6-3 Supreme Court decision giving Trump immunity for official acts as president and allowed him to claim immunity from criminal prosecution for some of his actions during the final days of his presidency—particularly for his role before, during, and after the 2021 Capitol riot—and ultimately scuttled the federal cases against him.

He wrote:

"Actually, it’s fine. If Trump is saying he’s doing something on his “personal time,” then obviously that means he’s not acting within what the Supreme Court calls “the outer perimeter of his official responsibility,” which, in turn, means he’s not immune from criminal prosecution."

You can see his post below.

Many cheered on Conway and slammed Leavitt's response as the empty spin that it is.

Two companies affiliated with Trump reportedly control 80% of the $TRUMP coin project. Although restrictions prevent immediate liquidation of their holdings, the entities benefit financially from transaction fees associated with each trade.

According to data from research firm Chainalysis, those fees have generated more than $324 million since January. It remains unclear how much of that revenue Trump himself receives.

A source familiar with the matter told CNBC that Trump did not announce any new cryptocurrency policy during the event, but reiterated his support for digital assets, including the idea of a potential national bitcoin reserve. He reportedly described himself as "pro-crypto."

Despite the high-profile gathering, the price of the $TRUMP meme coin fell by 16% by Friday morning. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that Trump left before taking any questions or posing for pictures with the attendees. And that the food reportedly "sucked."