Nunes fires off new letter urging Republican leaders in Congress to investigate DJT stock manipulation

2H3BNJJ Washington, United States Of America. 27th Oct, 2021. United States Representative Devin Nunes (Republican of California), Ranking Member, US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence questions the panel during House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing ?Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Intelligence Community: An Enduring Mission Imperative? at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Credit: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Sipa USA Credit: Sipa USA/Alamy Live News

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Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes is going after firms that may be allowing the manipulation of DJT stock and he’s not holding back.

In a May 1 follow-up letter directed to Republican committee leaders including Chairmen Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Jason Smith, R-Mo., James Comer, R-Ky., and Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., Nunes urged Congress to investigate the short-selling of DJT shares.

The former California congressman opened the letter citing an SEC regulation:

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Regulation SHO (“Reg SHO”) generally “prohibits a broker-dealer from accepting a short sale order in any equity security . . . unless the broker-dealer has: borrowed the security, entered into a bona-fide arrangement to borrow the security, or reasonable grounds to believe that the security can be borrowed so that it can be delivered on the date delivery is due.”1  To support “reasonable grounds,” a “locate” “must be made and documented prior to effecting the short sale.”2

DJT has continuously remained on Nasdaq’s Reg SHO Threshold List since April 2, 2024.  An appearance on the threshold list results from persistent settlement failures,3 and triggers a heightened responsibilities for market participants.  For threshold securities such as DJT, SEC guidance clearly states that the only way to establish “reasonable grounds” for short sales is if the broker-dealer pre-borrows the securities; moreover, “a broker-dealer may not re-apply a locate for intra-day buy to cover trades.”4

Excerpt from Nunes’ letter to Congress dated May 1, 2024

Regarding the company’s concerns about “ongoing anomalies in DJT trading,” Nunes wrote, “To assist in determining whether intra-day short sales of DJT are being approved in violation of SEC rules, we would encourage you to seek documents and testimony from firms (including several Depository Trust Company members) that facilitate short sales,” he said.

Nunes named the firms in question: Apex Clearing, Clear Street, Cobra Trading, Cowen and Company, Curvature Securities, StoneX Securities, TradePro, and Velocity Clearing. RSBN has reached out to several of the firms for a statement. Clear Street replied, “No comment.”

In his request to Congress, Nunes urged the committee leaders to also ask “for records and information regarding trading in DJT, relevant documents include compliance policies—including any policies that condone the application of a ‘multiplier’ to facilitate the lending of more shares than are actually available.”

He urged “quick action” on this matter to “protect retail shareholders, identify wrongdoers, and determine whether any laws, including RICO statutes and tax evasion laws, have been violated.” President Trump is the majority shareholder in TMTG, with 114,750,000 shares in the company, which were worth about $5.7 billion at Tuesday’s closing price of $49.93, according to CNBC.

In an exclusive statement to RSBN, Truth Social said, “Throughout the capital markets, well-connected manipulators are damaging small retail investors who just want to invest their savings without being exploited. To protect retail investors’ rights, we need to find out who’s doing the manipulating, how they’re doing it, and put a stop to it.”

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