Senator Blumenthal Probes Cantor Fitzgerald’s Ties to Tether in Letter to CEO

Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter on Thursday to Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick demanding answers about the firm’s relationship with Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer. Lutnick is the son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who passed control of the company to him before joining the Trump administration. Blumenthal noted that Cantor handles Tether’s U.S. reserves and said the firm has profited from that link, just as Tether has earned millions from stablecoins used in illicit activity.

Illicit Finance and Sanctions Concerns

The senator has been examining Tether’s role in Iran’s financial system, and his letter asks about Cantor’s banking and sanctions safeguards and the elder Lutnick’s history with Tether. He pointed out that although Tether says it operates from El Salvador, most of its assets sit in the United States under Cantor’s custody. One request asks Cantor to describe every step taken to investigate claims that USDT has been used for money laundering, including through Iran’s shadow banking network and Russia sanctions evasion. Neither company responded immediately to requests for comment.

Democratic Senate Odds and Subpoena Power

Blumenthal and fellow critic Elizabeth Warren have had limited authority as minority members, but a Democratic majority would give them committee control and subpoena power. Prediction markets now give Democrats a better-than-even chance of winning the Senate, with Kalshi at 61% and Polymarket at 64%, up from near 50-50 weeks ago. Both platforms show odds of a House shift above 90%.