Trump social media merger hit with grand jury subpoenas

The special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, merging with former President Donald Trump's social media company has been hit with subpoenas from a federal grand jury in New York, The New York Times reports Monday, per a regulatory filing.

The subpoenas were issued to Digital World Acquisition and its directors within the past week, the Times reports. The merger between Digital World and Trump Media & Technology Group — after which Trump Media would "assume Digital World's listing and trade as a public company" — has been under investigation by regulators for months, the Times adds.

The grand jury subpoenas are seeking information similar to that already requested by regulators, as well as information regarding a Miami venture capital firm known as Rocket One Capital. Bruce Garelick, listed in the filing as the chief strategy officer at Rocket One, apparently resigned as director at Digital World, the company disclosed.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The Securites and Exchange Commission's investigation into the merger between Digital World and Trump Media is concerned with whether leaders of each company talked seriously before the SPAC went public and why the talks weren't disclosed. SPACs "are not supposed to have an acquisition target in mind when they raise money from investors," the Times writes.

Grand jury subpoenas are usually linked to a possible criminal investigation. Read more at the The New York Times.