Former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, is valued at over $6 billion. The company’s stock market debut in March was nearly derailed by Trump himself, according to co-founder Andy Litinsky, who testified in federal court. Litinsky had doubts about whether Trump would agree to take the firm public by merging it with a cash-rich shell company. Trump asked Litinsky for advice before the deal-signing ceremony, leaving Litinsky uncertain about Trump’s intentions.
Trump eventually signed the merger agreement, and the deal was completed on March 25, making Trump Media a publicly traded company with nearly $300 million in cash. Trump was awarded a roughly 65 percent stake in the company, which has seen its stock soar, making Trump’s stake worth billions. However, Trump is unable to sell his shares or use them as collateral until at least mid-September, as per the rules of the merger agreement.
Litinsky’s comments about Trump’s hesitation over the deal came during cross-examination in an insider trading trial related to the merger announcement. A former Digital World board member, Bruce Garelick, was charged with tipping off his former boss and his boss’s brother about the merger, leading to illegal trading profits of around $23 million. Garelick denies any wrongdoing and his lawyer suggested that the tip could have come from another source.
Litinsky revealed that company lawyers had come up with a code name for the deal, Project USA, to maintain secrecy during the merger talks. He testified that he had never met Garelick and was only at the trial because of a government subpoena. Garelick’s trial coincides with Trump’s first criminal trial for his alleged involvement in concealing hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. Litinsky, a former contestant on Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice,” had approached Trump after he left the White House with the idea of founding a social media company.
Litinsky and another former “Apprentice” contestant, Wes Moss, are currently suing Trump Media and Trump, claiming that the company is trying to wrongfully deprive them of their stake, which is now worth over $500 million. Litinsky’s career trajectory included working for Trump on “The Apprentice” and later as the head of Trump’s television production company. The trial sheds light on the complex dealings behind the scenes of Trump’s business ventures and legal challenges, including his involvement in Trump Media and its successful stock market debut.
