A Trump coin is embarrassing enough. Its source could be a massive scandal.

If the image of Donald Trump on a 24-karat gold coin commemorating America's 250th birthday didn't already gross you out, here's something even more disturbing:

The Trump administration could be getting the gold for these "Trump coins" via illegal and illicit sources.

It was recently revealed that the Trump administration helped broker a deal to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars of gold from Venezuela. There's just one problem: virtually all gold in Venezuela comes from mines that are controlled by illicit drug cartels and terrorist organizations.

We don't have many details on this deal. Unsurprisingly, it's cloaked in secrecy as the administration works overtime to stonewall and hide the details.

I've been leading the charge in Congress to investigate these deals.

The American people deserve to know if the Trump administration is funneling taxpayer dollars to drug cartels in Venezuela.

These are some of the same cartels trafficking illicit drugs into the United States and perpetuating the ongoing addiction crisis. The administration has no business giving any money to these cartels, however indirectly, especially taxpayer dollars.

As the administration continues to stonewall, we have no reason to trust that the gold being used for the Trump coins isn't the same gold that's been obtained via illicit sources. That's why I've paired up with my colleague, Elizabeth Warren, to demand that the Treasury Department immediately cease production of these coins.

It's embarrassing enough that to celebrate 250 years of a country formed on the basis of rejecting a monarch we would have a gaudy gold coin bearing a wannabe-authoritarian's image. It would be far, far worse if that coin were the product of illegal, deadly activities.

We need answers, and until we get answers, no "Trump coins" should be produced.

More soon,

Ron