Interview With Embattled Argentine President Cut By Aide Who Directs Journalist To Change a Question Over Legal Peril

Argentine President Javier Milei is facing a new controversy regarding his role in a crypto initiative that quickly crashed after rising in value. This one has to do with an interview to address the matter, where he seemingly discussed pre-arranged questions with a friendly journalist and was later cut off by an aide over potential legal danger stemming from an answer.

The interview with local TV channel Todo Noticias (TN) was uploaded on Monday night. However, TN uploaded the raw footage rather than the edited clip, showing the controversial scenes.

"Were questions not arranged beforehand?" Milei tells TN's Jonatan Viale at one point. "Yes, I have them here. These are from (press secretary Manuel) Adorni, these from (presidential aide and Milei's sister) Karina, and (aide Santiago) Caputo has these ones," Viale replies.

Spanish outlet El País detailed that the interview was under governmental control until airing time, but the version that was published on TN's social media was not the edited one. El País added that evidence points to a mistake by the government's communications team.

In another passage of the interview, Viale asks about the potential legal fallout for Milei's promotion of what has been described as a crypto "rug pull," where its price quickly craters after rising, leaving investors with heavy losses while early adopters take large profits.

Milei reiterated that he wrote the publication as a private citizen even though it came from his verified X account. Viale retorted that he is also the president, leading Santiago Caputo to cut off the interview and whisper something into Milei's ear. "Yes, I realize. It can bring you legal trouble," Viale says before backtracking and asking another question.

The clip was later removed from TN's social media but by then it had been widely replicated on social media. "You're falling apart," said former President Cristina Kirchner, fiercely opposed to Milei. "You're not only a crypto scammer. You're also an interview scammer. A puppet show where Jony Viale obeys and you repeat" what's told to you, she added.

The Libra token, a memecoin launched on the Solana blockchain and promoted by Milei, saw its market value rapidly rise past $4 billion before collapsing hours later, Bloomberg detailed. Among those affected was Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who called Libra "the biggest rug pull of all time."

Milei's endorsement of Libra drew comparisons to a similar token launched by former U.S. President Donald Trump right before taking office. The fallout from the Libra crash has prompted scrutiny of Milei's involvement, with several lawsuits being filed since. Others involved in the project and people close to the president have been accused as well. He is now facing lawsuits in Argentina and the United States over the matter.