Federal grand jury, SEC subpoena Trump’s media company

A federal grand jury in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have both subpoenaed former President Trump’s media company, according to a SEC filing dated Friday.

Digital World Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company which is seeking to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), disclosed in its filing that the blank check company had been informed that TMTG had been given a subpoena from the SEC on Monday and a separate subpoena from a federal grand jury in Southern District of New York on Thursday.

The SEC’s subpoena is “seeking documents relating to, among other things, Digital World and other potential counterparties for a business transaction involving TMTG,” according to the SEC filing.

The subpoena from the federal grand jury in Manhattan is “seeking a subset of the same or similar documents demanded in subpoenas to Digital World and its directors,” the filing notes.

Digital World also disclosed that some former and current personnel at Trump’s media company have also received their own subpoenas from the grand jury.

The development comes after every member of Digital World’s board of directors received subpoenas from the grand jury, which was disclosed in a SEC filing earlier this week. 

Financial regulators have been investigating the merger between TMTG and Digital World, which was announced last October. Trump’s media company stands to gain a stock market listing and as much as $1 billion in capital should the merger go through, according to The New York Times. 

“TMTG is focused on reclaiming the American people’s right to free expression. Every day, our team works tirelessly to sustain Truth Social’s rapid growth, onboard new users, and add new features. We encourage-and will cooperate with-oversight that supports the SEC’s important mission of protecting retail investors,” TMTG said in a statement following the Monday SEC filing. 

The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson and TMTG for comment.