Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes is begging his former GOP colleagues in Congress to investigate ‘DJT’ short sellers.
In the Tuesday letter to Congressmen Jim Jordan (R-OH), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), and other top committee chairs, Nunes asked the House of Representatives to look into allegations of illegal “naked” short selling, a practice where a stock is shorted without borrowing the asset.
“We assess there are strong indications of unlawful manipulation of DJT stock,” Nunes said in the letter, which was filed with federal regulators. “I respectfully request that you open an investigation of anomalous trading of DJT to determine its extent and purpose, and whether any laws including RICO statutes and tax evasion laws were violated.”
Nunes previously asked the CEO of the NASDAQ exchange for a crackdown on what he called “potential market manipulation” by major Wall Street players, including Citadel Securities, who did not take the accusations kindly.
Nunes again pointed to Citadel Securities, Virtu, Jane Street and G1 Execution Services in the letter for making over 60% of trades on Trump Media stock, echoing previous claims that institutional investors are unfairly betting against the former president’s media company.
In the letter, Nunes specifically asked House Republicans to protect “TMTG’s retail investors,” many of whom are some of Donald Trump’s most fanatical supporters. Even these fanatical supporters may be losing confidence in the stock, which is bleeding valuation.
The company, which posted a 2023 revenue of $4.1 million and losses of $58.2 million despite a valuation in the billions, faces calls from Democratic-aligned groups for investigation, too. In an early April letter to Congress, the Congressional Integrity Project asked the House Oversight Committee to look into “possible influence peddling and corruption” by investors in the company.
