Key facts
- Blumenthal is the ranking Democrat and incoming chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, per the report.
- The January 4, 2027 deadline falls a day after Democrats are due to take control of the Senate, per the report.
- Blumenthal wrote the subcommittee would consider "alternative measures to obtain compliance" if the firms miss the deadline.
- The panel's current rules allow its chair to issue subpoenas for documents and records, per the report.
- Blumenthal said Binance still had not turned over any of the records requested in February.
- Tether said it helped authorities freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked tokens in 2026.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal gave Binance, Tether, World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight LLC until January 4, 2027, to voluntarily turn over records sought in Senate inquiries, in follow-up letters sent Thursday. The letters asked the companies to begin turning over records by November 30. The January deadline falls a day after Democrats are due to take control of the Senate.
Blumenthal is the ranking Democrat and incoming chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He wrote that the subcommittee would consider "alternative measures to obtain compliance" if the companies miss the January deadline. The panel's current rules allow its chair to issue subpoenas for documents and records. Cointelegraph sought comment from Binance, Tether, World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight LLC but did not receive responses before publication.
In May 2025, Blumenthal opened an inquiry into potential conflicts of interest involving Trump's crypto ventures. He sought records from World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight LLC on their ownership, foreign investments and safeguards against conflicts of interest. World Liberty Financial's lawyers disputed his claims and said the company had no affiliation with Fight Fight Fight LLC.
In June 2026, Blumenthal and four other Senate Democrats called for hearings into a reported $500 million deal for an Abu Dhabi investment firm to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial.
In February, Blumenthal asked Binance for records on transactions linked to Iranian entities and Russia's shadow fleet. Binance called the underlying reports false in its March reply and said that, to its knowledge, no Binance account had transacted directly with an Iran-based entity. In Thursday's letter, Blumenthal said Binance still had not turned over any of the requested records.