A federal grand jury in New York has summoned former US President Donald Trump’s media company in connection with a criminal investigation, according to a July 1 disclosure.
Trump Media and Technology Group received a Manhattan grand jury subpoena on June 30, according to a filing from Digital World Acquisition Corp. As part of a civil investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission this week issued a subpoena to the Trump Organization. , according to DWAC.
DWAC is a blank check corporation. The term “blank check company” refers to those companies that are in the development stage without clear goals or objectives, or whose business plan is to merge or acquire another company, group of companies or an unnamed individual.
According to the DWAC, a few current and former TMTG employees recently received grand jury subpoenas. On July 1, TMTG said it would abide by subpoenas and none of them were directed at its CEO, former U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, or its chairman, Donald Trump.
The filling came days after DWAC warned that government investigations would block or could thwart its merger with Trump’s new venture, which includes Truth Social, a social networking platform meant to be a Twitter surrogate.
However, the deal between DWAC and Trump Media is being scrutinized by the Justice Department and the SEC, which oversees the stock market.
It has been reported that Trump’s firm would gain access to billions of dollars in the public stock markets by combining with DWAC.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren was one of the first politicians to criticize the Trump-DWAC deal. She wrote to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in November last year demanding an investigation, saying DWAC may have committed securities violations by holding private, undisclosed merger discussions as early as May 2021. , while omitting to mention this information. in the SEC filing and other public statements.
According to recent reports, the grand jury served subpoenas on all DWAC board members on June 16, the company said in a securities filing this week.
According to DWAC, the grand jury demanded the same documents the SEC had already requested as part of its civil investigation.
The SEC had previously requested identical papers from the grand jury as part of its civil investigation, according to DWAC.
Meanwhile, DWAC revealed this week that board member Bruce J. Garelick briefed management the week before he was leaving the board. According to the company filing, Garelick said his resignation was not the result of a dispute with Digital World’s operations, rules or procedures.
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