Trump’s new media company’s deal is being investigated by the SEC | Donald Trump

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Top Wall Street financial regulators are investigating Donald Trump’s $ 1.25bn deal to float his new social media venture in the stock market, a filing showed Monday.

Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the blank-check acquisition firm that agreed to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG), disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra)) is looking into the deal.

Digital World said the SEC sought documents in early November related to communications between it and TMTG, its board meetings, trade -related policies and procedures, the identity of banking , telephone and email addresses and the identities of certain investors.

The SEC said in its request that its investigation does not mean the regulator has determined that anyone violated the law, Digital World said.

TMTG did not respond to requests for comment.

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren asked the SEC to investigate TMTG’s proposed merger with Digital World because of potential violations of securities laws, including whether they were adequately disclosed when deal negotiations began.

The SEC declined to comment.

The investigations come amid suspicion among Trump supporters and retail investors over the planned deal. The frantic trading of shares of Digital World pushed TMTG’s valuation from $ 875m in October to close to $ 4bn.

Digital World, whose shares fell 1.8% to $ 44.14 on Monday, said Finra sought details in late October and early November about “surrounding events”, including a review of trade, which preceded the announcement of the incorporation.

Finra said in its request that its inquiry should not be construed as an indication that any violations of Nasdaq rules or federal securities laws have occurred, Digital World added.

Finra declined to comment.

TMTG said on Saturday that it had entered into agreements to raise approximately $ 1bn from a group of anonymous investors, bringing the total revenue of the deal to $ 1.25bn. But TMTG will only receive the money if the deal is completed. A vote required for Digital World shareholders to approve the transaction has not yet been scheduled.

Some on Wall Street are reluctant to contact Trump, and Digital World filings have not revealed which investors supported the $ 1bn fundraiser.

Trump was banned from top social media platforms after a Jan. 6 attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol amid concerns he would incite more violence. The attack on the Capitol was based on unproven claims of widespread fraud in last year’s presidential election.

Trump remains in legal danger stemming from both his lie that his defeat of Joe Biden was caused by electoral fraud and his financial affairs. His own personal worth has plummeted and the Trump Organization is facing investigations in New York over its financial and tax matters.

But Trump remains a vocal presence in national politics. On Monday he was in the headlines for an attack on the U.S. press-which he called “crooked bastards”-in statements to a conservative group in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night.

In a rambling speech, Trump also said the “big tech” was “horrible” and “removed our press, they removed a voice”.

Trump continues to send statements, his chosen method of communication in exchange for tweets in which he uses most of his business.

In statements Monday, Trump continued to complain about the revelation by his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, first reported by the Guardian last week, that Trump had returned positive and negative reviews to Covid three days before the his first debate with Biden last year.

In its first financial projections since the merger was announced, Digital World said it expects the average revenue per user of Trump’s planned social media app, Truth Social, to grow to $ 13.50 by 2026, for a total of 81 million user.

That is despite the app not reaching even trial mode. TMTG plans to launch the beta version of Truth Social in the first quarter of 2022.

Digital World also said it expects TMTG to reach 40 million total subscribers by 2026. In comparison, Twitter has more than 200 million daily active users.

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