Digital World Acquisition, the SPAC that plans to take Donald Trump’s media company public, in a regulatory filing today disclosed that a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York has issued subpoenas to each member of Digital World’s board of directors.
The SPAC has also been subpoenaed by the SEC, which is demanding documents related to Digital World’s due diligence on Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). One of the key points in the SEC investigation is whether the SPAC had any merger discusssions with Trump’s company before Digital World made its IPO last September. Such discussions would be illegal. Digital World has been under investigation by the justice department for months.
“These subpoenas, and the underlying investigations by the Department of Justice and the SEC, can be expected to delay effectiveness of the Registration Statement, which could materially delay, materially impede, or prevent the consummation of the Business Combination,” the SPAC said in the filing.
Shares in Digital World dropped 10% at the open today and were still down 9.78% early this afternoon at the lowest point since the deal with TMTG was announced.
Digital World in today’s 8-K filing also disclosed that director Bruce Garelick has resigned.
Separately, TMTG issued the following statment in a press release today regarding Digital World’s 8-K filing:
“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.” Read more.
