Ranking Member Raskin Expands Probe Into Board of Peace Trademark Scheme After U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Abandons Unusual Applications

Washington, D.C. (July 21, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, expanded his investigation into the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) role in applying for trademarks on behalf of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace,” a shadowy global fund backed by foreign governments and at least $1.25 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds, after the office abandoned the applications following scrutiny from Judiciary Democrats.

The USPTO’s reversal raises questions about why the office took such an unusual step in the first place and whether there was any legal justification for working on the President’s side project.

“Though your reversal is a welcome and necessary course correction, fundamental questions remain about the impetus and legal justification for your decision both to apply for and then abandon these applications,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.

The USPTO took the unprecedented step of acting as a “custodial” applicant for the President’s Board of Peace, claiming authority to file the trademarks on behalf of this new entity was necessary to address potential cybersquatting and fraud concerns before the entity was formally established. The USPTO has historically only held trademarks related to its own identity and operations.

The office has not articulated a clear legal basis for acting on behalf of an outside entity. During sworn testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, USPTO Director John Squires offered conflicting explanations for the filings, including asserting authority to act in cases involving the President while also denying the agency was representing him. USPTO has also failed to respond to repeated oversight requests from Judiciary Democrats.

Foreign governments have pledged billions of dollars for Trump’s “Board of Peace”, which also received U.S. taxpayer funds, but little is known about the mysterious organization. Funds have been directed into a private J.P. Morgan bank account outside traditional oversight, giving Trump—the Board’s self-appointed “Chairman for Life”—unilateral control over billions of dollars with no oversight and no guardrails. Several foreign governments, including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait, have pledged billions of dollars to support the fund.

“The abandonment of these applications has only deepened the concerns raised by their initial filing and have now generated a host of new questions, each of which demand urgent responses. True transparency requires more than the abandonment of these applications; it requires answers,” wrote the Ranking Member.

Ranking Member Raskin is demanding USPTO Director Squires produce records and information detailing the agency’s involvement with the Board of Peace, including the legal authority used to justify acting as a trademark applicant, the specific alleged cybersquatting or fraud threats cited to warrant intervention, the officials who approved and later abandoned the applications, and all communications between the USPTO, the White House, and any representatives of the Board of Peace. These materials are needed to provide a full accounting of what appears to be a willful misapplication of federal law to legitimize and insulate Donald Trump’s illicit enrichment scheme.

Click here to read the letter.