Trump's new social media company is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission




Kelly McLaughlin,Bryan Metzger
Mon, December 6, 2021, 8:19 AM·2 min read


The SPAC backing Trump's new social media venture disclosed in a SEC filing that it's under investigation.


Regulators have requested information from the company, but there's no indication of wrongdoing yet.


The SPAC has seen investment from 2 Republicans in Congress, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The deal between a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and former President Donald Trump's new social media company is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators, according to a report filed with the SEC that was first reported by the New York Times.

According to the document from Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) — the SPAC that intends to merge with Trump's new media venture, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG) — the SEC has requested documents about meetings of the SPAC's board of directors, "policies and procedures relating to trading," identification of certain investors, and copies of communication between DWAC and TMTG.

Trump first announced on October 20 that he was launching a new social media company, "TRUTH Social," under the auspices of TMTG.

"We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced," Trump said in his statement announcing the launch. "Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!"

The investigation, according to the filing, began in early November. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a private regulator, also began looking into the partnership in late October following the October 20 merger announcement.

The company noted that neither FINRA nor the SEC had found any indication of wrongdoing, and the company said it was cooperating with both agencies.

"The inquiry should not be construed as an indication that FINRA has determined that any violations of Nasdaq rules or federal securities laws have occurred," the document states. "According to the SEC's request, the investigation does not mean that the SEC has concluded that anyone violated the law or that the SEC has a negative opinion of DWAC or any person, event, or security."

The investigation comes after Trump's digital media company, TRUTH Social, and Digital World Acquisition Corp. announced that they were raising nearly $1 billion from investors.

Two Republican members of congress — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Larry Bucshon of Indiana — have invested in Digital World Acquisition Corp.