Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT) Writes a Second Letter to the Relevant Committees of the US Congress To Urge Investigation Into the “Potential Manipulation” of Its Stock

02.05.2024 - 16:11 / wccftech.com / Rohail Saleem

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

Whether rightly or wrongly, Trump Media and Technology Group (NASDAQ: DJT) is convinced that its stock is being manipulated by illegal means, and the company appears to be leaving no stone unturned in its tenacious quest to hold a select clique of market makers accountable, going so far as to try to drag the US House of Representative's Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Ways and Means, and Committee on Oversight and Reform into this brewing controversy.

A Chronology of Trump Media and Technology Group's Moves

As we noted earlier in a dedicated post, Trump Media and Technology Group published a comprehensive list of FAQs on the 17th of April to address investor concerns, including those related to short-selling. Specifically, the company advised its investors to contact their respective brokers to restrict their shares from being loaned out for short positions.

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Next, on the 19th of April, Trump Media penned a letter to urge the Nasdaq exchange to probe the "naked" short-selling of its shares as well as its inclusion in the so-called threshold list. In the letter, the company identified four market-makers as the purported culprits behind the alleged manipulation of its share price: Citadel Securities, VIRTU Americas, G1 Execution Services, and Jane Street Capital. This letter then prompted a riposte from Citadel, which not only rejected Trump Media and Technology Group's allegations but also chose to characterize the company's CEO, Devin Nunes, in a less-than-stellar light, euphemistically speaking.

On the 23rd of April, Trump Media published a 3-step plan for its investors to combat rampant short-selling, recommending that investors hold their DJT shares in a cash account at their brokerage firm instead of a margin account, opt out of any securities lending programs, and move their shares to a Direct Registration (DRS) account at the Company’s transfer agent, Odyssey Transfer & Trust Company.

These steps appear to have had a measurable impact on Trump Media and Technology Group's share price, which is now up around 20 percent over the past trading week.

A Tale of Two Letters (For Now)

This brings us to the crux of the matter. On the 23rd of April, 2024, Trump Media penned a letter to each of the Chairmen of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Ways and Means, and Committee on Oversight and Reform, highlighting DJT's continued inclusion in the