The Truth social network logo is seen on a smartphone in front of the screen of former US President Donald Trump in this illustration photo taken February 21, 2022.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Former president Donald Trump stepped off the board of his social media company just weeks before it was subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a federal grand jury in Manhattan.
Trump, who served as chairman of Trump Media and Technology Corporation, was one of six board members removed, according to a June 8 filing with the Florida Department of State’s Corporations Division. His son Donald Trump Jr., also left the board, along with Wes Moss, Kashyap Patel, Andrew Northwall and Scott Glabe. This news was first reported by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
The SEC served the subpoena on June 27. Three days later, a federal grand jury in Manhattan issued a subpoena to the company. Subpoenas often indicate a criminal investigation is underway.
The company said last week there were no subpoenas directed at Trump. Representatives for Trump and for the company did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday.
The subpoena appears to be related to a proposed merger between Trump Media and Technology and Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC revealed a connection to a criminal investigation last Friday. A week ago, the DWAC said government investigations could delay or even prevent its merger with Trump’s startups, which included Truth Social, a social media app intended as an alternative to Twitter.
The Department of Justice and the SEC, the securities market regulator, are investigating the deal between DWAC and Trump Media. By merging with DWAC, a type of shell company known as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Trump’s company will gain access to potentially billions of dollars in the public stock market. they.
Initial criticism of the deal came from Senator Elizabeth Warren in November. She wrote to SEC Chairman Gary Genslertold him that DWAC “may have breached securities by holding private and undisclosed discussions about the merger as early as May 2021, while ignoring this information in [SEC] filings and other public statements. “
Shares of DWAC fell less than one percent on Thursday, but are down more than 50 percent so far this year.
— Mike Calia of CNBC contributed to this report.
