The New York Times exposed the White House encryption czar's corruption, with David Sacks involved in insider trading profits of 100s of billions of dollars.

The New York Times deep investigation reveals serious conflicts of interest during the tenure of White House AI and Crypto Assets Director David Sacks, who holds 708 tech investments, of which at least 449 are related to AI, and uses his government position to profit personally and for friends, involving amounts as high as 100s of billions of dollars. This article is derived from the New York Times article “Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends,” compiled, translated, and written by Foresight News. (Background: White House Crypto Czar David Sacks: Confident that the “Crypto Market Structure Act” will pass this year, providing regulatory clarity for the industry) (Background supplement: Insider trading by the crypto czar? David Sacks' investment company's five major Holdings completely match the tokens named by Trump) The New York Times published “Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends” on December 1, 2025, at 01:34 UTC. The article points out that there are conflicts of interest during David Sacks' tenure as White House AI and Crypto Assets Director. Subsequently, David Sacks tweeted that given the New York Times' apparent lack of intention to write a fair report, he hired the Clare Locke law firm, specializing in defamation lawsuits, to handle the matter. Below is the full translation of the report: In July of this year, senior tech official David Sacks of the Trump administration smiled as he took the stage in a neoclassical hall just a few blocks from the White House. He called together government officials and Silicon Valley executives to participate in a forum on the booming AI industry. The guest of honor at the forum was President Trump, who announced an “AI Action Plan” partially drafted by senior venture capitalist David Sacks. In nearly an hour-long speech, Trump claimed that AI is “one of the most important technological revolutions in world history.” He then signed an executive order aimed at accelerating the development of the industry. Among the authoritative audience present, almost everyone, including chip manufacturers' CEOs from Nvidia and AMD, as well as David Sacks' friends, colleagues, and business partners in the tech world, profited from Trump's decree. One of the winners is David Sacks himself. At 53 years old, David Sacks has held a highly advantageous “part-time” role within the federal government since January: influencing Silicon Valley policies in Washington while still acting as an investor in Silicon Valley. As the White House AI and Crypto Assets head, his actions include: · Providing his tech peers with astonishing access to White House contacts and working to clear government obstacles for AI companies. This move brought Nvidia and other giants an estimated new sales of up to 200 billion dollars. · His proposed AI policy suggestions sometimes conflicted with national security advice, raising awareness among some White House colleagues and provoking questions about his priorities. · Creating conditions for personal profit. According to the New York Times' analysis of his financial disclosure documents, he holds 708 tech investments, of which at least 449 are related to the AI field, and these investments may directly or indirectly benefit from the policies he helped formulate. The New York Times found that despite many companies self-promoting as AI firms, providing AI services, or containing “AI” in their names, 438 of the tech investments were classified as software or hardware companies in their public disclosure materials. David Sacks has also leveraged his government position to boost the visibility of his weekly podcast “All-In” and expand related business. To illustrate the ethical complexity and intertwining of interests faced by David Sacks, the AI summit in July is a typical example. David Sacks initially planned for the forum to be hosted by him and other tech investors on the “All-In” podcast. According to a proposal obtained by the New York Times, “All-In” had suggested to potential sponsors that each pay 1 million dollars to participate in private receptions and other activities during the summit, aimed at “bringing together President Donald Trump and top AI innovators.” President Trump spoke at an AI summit in July in Washington, co-hosted by the tech podcast “All-In” and the tech conference “Hill & Valley Forum”. Photo credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times. According to two informed sources, this plan raised concerns among some officials, prompting White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to intervene and prevent “All-In” from being the sole host of the forum. Former Trump advisor and Silicon Valley billionaire critic Steve Bannon stated that David Sacks is a typical representative of ethical conflicts in this administration, and in his view, “the tech bros have gone out of control.” “They are leading the White House down a path of destruction through this rising oligopoly,” he said. David Sacks is able to serve in the government as a private sector practitioner because he is a “special government employee,” a title usually granted by the White House to experts providing short-term consultations. He holds a government position without salary. In March of this year, David Sacks received two ethical exemptions from the White House, stating that he is in the process of or has sold most of his crypto and AI assets. The exemption stated that his remaining investments “do not yet reach a significant level that could affect his government service.” However, David Sacks stands out among “special government employees” because he holds investments in hundreds of tech companies that may benefit from the policies he can influence. His publicly disclosed ethical filing, based on self-reported information, neither disclosed the value of these remaining crypto and AI-related holdings nor specified the exact timing of his claims of asset divestiture, making it difficult for outsiders to determine whether his government position has brought net gains. White House spokesperson Liz Houston stated that David Sacks has addressed potential conflicts of interest. She described his insights as “valuable assets to President Trump’s agenda of consolidating America’s tech hegemony.” White House AI and Crypto Assets head, 53-year-old David Sacks, was photographed in September. His disclosure documents show he holds hundreds of tech investments. Photo credit: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times. David Sacks' spokesperson Jessica Hoffman stated, “The claim of conflicts of interest is unfounded.” She said David Sacks complied with the special government employee regulations and that the government ethics office determined he needed to sell certain types of AI company investments, not all. She added that his government role has caused him losses rather than profits. At a dinner held by the White House for tech executives in September, David Sacks expressed his honor to straddle the worlds of tech and government. “Having a place in both worlds is a great honor.”