Donald Trump can't use the hefty cash windfall he's expected to get from a merger of his Truth Social platform with a tech company to pay his massive legal costs.
Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, New York Times investigative reporter Russ Buettner explained that the former president can't simply dip into the merger deal funds for his own personal use — and that what Trump will ultimately get out of the deal may not be spendable cash anyway.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Trump's media and technology company merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) named Digital World Acquisition.
The Washington Post explained last week, "The approval is a victory for Trump, who will hold more than 78 million shares in the post-merger company, a filing shows — a stake that, at current prices, would be worth nearly $4 billion. Trump, who would own between 58 and 69 percent of the company, and other investors could earn tens of millions more shares through a provision, known as an 'earnout,' tied to the stock’s performance, a filing said."
Buettner confessed to MSNBC that he's not up on the details of the merger. However, "I don't think that there's cash there that he could readily access from what we have heard recently," he said.
There's a reason for that. While the company may be valued at $10 billion, Trump's $4 billion will be in the form of stock shares. Those shares fluctuate at any given moment, and Trump would be forced to sell his stake in the company if he wanted to access the cash.
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Associate New York University professor Michael Ohlrogge explained to the Washington Post that one of the problems that Trump’s post-merger company could hit is conflicts of interest. The question, he said, is whether the Republican Party, GOP candidates, and even foreign countries purchasing ads on Truth Social for the 2024 election are really just a funneling mechanism to score Trump cash.
As of last week, Trump owes about $550 million, including fines, fees, and interest. Broken down, it's $354.9 million in the New York fraud trial, 5 percent interest on that, $83.3 million from the E. Jean Carroll trial, and a 9 percent interest on the sum, as well as a previous $5 million penalty for the second case of Trump defaming Carroll.
See the panel discussion in the video below or at the link here.