Shares in Trump social media company sink following concerns about insider selloff
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(WASHINGTON) — Shares in Donald Trump’s social media company sank in morning trading on Wednesday, a day after the company filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission that could allow the president’s trust to sell more than $2 billion of shares.
Trump Media and Technology Group filed a registration with the SEC on Tuesday that would open the door for the president’s trust to sell up to nearly 115 million shares, which are worth more than $2.3 billion.
The filing does not guarantee the sale of the shares nor provide any information about a future sale. Since Trump took office, he transferred his stake of the company into the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which is controlled by his son, Donald Trump Jr.
A sell-off from Trump, the company’s largest individual shareholder, could panic investors and damage the company’s stock price.
As of midday Wednesday, the company’s stock price was down about 5%.
Trump Media and Technology Group pushed back on the possibility that Trump may attempt to sell any shares in a statement on Wednesday.
“Legacy media outlets are spreading a fake story suggesting that a TMTG filing today is paving the way for the Trump trust to sell its shares in TMTG. To be clear, these shares were already registered last June on an S-1 form, and today TMTG submitted a routine filing that re-registers them on an S-3 form in order to keep the Company’s filings effective. In fact, there currently is no open window for any affiliate to sell shares,” the statement said.
The president also has previously said he plans to hold his stake in the company.
“I don’t want to sell my shares. I don’t need money,” Trump told reporters in September.
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that an Oklahoma man convicted of murder, Richard Glossip — who has been scheduled for execution nine times and served his “last meal” three times — must now receive a new trial because errors committed by prosecutors violated his constitutional rights.
The 5-3 decision marks an extraordinary turn in a case that has seen decades of failed appeals, including a prior unsuccessful bid before the Supreme Court in which Glossip challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection as cruel and unusual punishment.
“We conclude that the prosecution violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her majority opinion, invoking the 14th Amendment’s right to due process. “We reverse the judgement below and remand the case for a new trial.”
Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined Sotomayor. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. Justice Neil Gorsuch recused from the case because of prior involvement as an appellate judge.
Glossip was convicted by an Oklahoma jury for involvement in the 1997 murder of his former boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese, only by testimony from the confessed killer, Justin Sneed, who later recanted the claim that he was paid by Glossip to perform the killing. He has maintained his innocence. There was no physical evidence.
Sneed — who received a life sentence in exchange for testifying against Glossip — had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and been taking psychiatric medication, but denied it during trial — facts uncorrected by prosecutors who knew the truth.
“Had the prosecution corrected Sneed on the stand, his credibility plainly would have suffered,” Sotomayor wrote. “That correction would have revealed to the jury not just that Sneed was untrustworthy … but also that Sneed was willing to lie to them under oath. Such a revelation would be significant in any case, and was especially so here where Sneed was already nobody’s idea of a strong witness.”
The state’s Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, who is a death penalty advocate, came out strongly against execution after reviewing the trial record.
“The death penalty doesn’t turn on, you know, ideology or politics,” Drummond told ABC News last year. “It should turn on the rule of law. This has been a wildly unpopular position for me to take, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Drummond has said he does not believe Glossip is innocent but that a new trial is imperative.
“We are thankful that a clear majority of the Court supports long-standing precedent that prosecutors cannot hide critical evidence from defense lawyers and cannot stand by while their witnesses knowingly lie to the jury. Today was a victory for justice and fairness in our judicial system,” said Glossip’s attorney Don Knight in a statement. “Rich Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for 27 years, will now be given the chance to have the fair trial that he has always been denied.”
The Van Treese family had asked the Supreme Court to uphold Glossip’s conviction.
Justice Thomas, in a written dissent, said the high court had no authority to override Oklahoma state court’s, which had refused to give Glossip a new trial.
“The Court stretches the law at every turn to rule in his favor,” Thomas wrote. “It finds a due process violation based on patently immaterial testimony about a witness’s medical condition. And, for the remedy, it orders a new trial in violation of black-letter law on this Court’s power to review state-court judgments.”
(WASHINGTON) — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries tussled with reporters Friday, pushing back against the notion that the Democratic Party is fractured as some Senate Democrats, including their leader, were on the cusp of joining Republicans to avert a government shutdown.
“Is it time for new leadership in the Senate?” a reporter asked.
“Next question,” Jeffries answered, notably withholding his public support for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“There are some colleagues of yours here in the House that are feeling betrayed. Is that what you’re feeling right now?” another reporter asked.
“The vote hasn’t happened yet,” Jeffries said.
“Have you lost confidence in him — since you guys see this so differently?” a reporter asked.
“Next question,” Jeffries repeated, dismissing the biting query.
“None of you are willing to say at this point that you have confidence in Chuck Schumer as leader?” Rachael Bade, an ABC News contributor and Politico’s Capitol bureau chief and senior Washington columnist, asked.
“You keep engaging in these parlor games because you want to take the focus off the American people,” Jeffries dodged.
It was a common strategy from Jeffries, who repeatedly rejected attempts from reporters to learn more about the divisions between House Democrats and Schumer, who announced Thursday that he would vote to keep the government open.
Schumer’s announcement has been met with full-throated criticism from House Democrats, who were powerless to block Republicans from passing the measure earlier this week.
“House Democrats are here. We’re ready to pass a four week spending bill that keeps the government open and will allow the House and the Senate to negotiate an actual agreement that meets the needs of the American people,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., said. “But we do not support a bill that is designed to hurt the American people that Donald Trump and far right extremist Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of everyday Americans.”
Jeffries continued to push for a month-long stop-gap measure, holding out hope that Senate Democrats will stop the bill from passing and appropriators will reconvene bipartisan negotiations.
“We’ll see what happens over in the Senate, there are still undecided and undeclared senators, and we anxiously await that vote,” Jeffries said.
As the caucus melts down internally over Schumer’s decision, House Democratic leaders returned to the Capitol fired up Friday morning following their caucus retreat in Leesburg, Virginia this week.
“What the American people need to know is that House Democrats are willing to work in a bipartisan way to keep government open for 30 days,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said. “That’s all we want. That’s our solution.”
While Schumer’s influence over his caucus remains to be seen ahead of the planned vote this afternoon, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark also dismissed the so-called “parlor game” dividing the Democratic Party — and downplayed Schumer’s national celebrity and influence – even though he’s served in the Senate for a quarter century and been the party leader since 2017.
“Most American people, they can’t name us. They don’t know who Chuck Schumer is, but they do know what this administration and Elon Musk and the GOP are planning for them,” Clark, D-Mass., said.
When asked if he’s afraid to say if he has confidence in Schumer, Jeffries grew defensive if not outright angry.
“Do not characterize my remarks. I am not afraid about anything, anything. I was very clear that we look forward to working with every single one of our Senate Democratic colleagues, every single one of them to push back against the Trump administration,” Jeffries said on-camera, leaving the newser in a gaggle with reporters.
“Do you think this is what the American people care about right?” Jeffries quipped, when pressed again on his confidence in Schumer.
(WASHINGTON) — Leading candidates for the Democratic National Committee chairperson election said Tuesday’s claim by front-runner Ken Martin that he has the support of 200 members is inflated and fails to paint an accurate picture of the dynamics of the race.
Chair candidates need a simple majority of DNC members, or 225 votes, to win. If it holds, Martin’s latest endorsement count would bring him close to victory on the first ballot.
The role of the chair, who guides fundraising, recruiting and organizing efforts for Democrats nationally, holds particular importance in years when the party is outside of the White House and lacks a de facto leader.
Whoever wins the election will have the responsibility of balancing messaging against the Trump presidency while looking to define and rebuild a party now marked by decisive losses in the executive branch and across both chambers of Congress.
Typically, presidents appoint their own chairs to lead the parties they represent.
Martin, the Minnesota Democratic Party chairman, announced his 200-member number in a statement Tuesday morning.
“I’m honored to have gained the support of leaders from across the country,” Martin said. “Our campaign is gaining momentum and we’re going to continue to work hard for people’s votes.”
The teams of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler claimed the dynamics of the race are far from locked.
In a statement to ABC News, Wikler’s spokesperson claimed Martin is inflating his whip count in an attempt to create “false momentum” and “lacks a clear path to victory.”
“Ken Martin is releasing inflated whip counts because his momentum in this race has stalled and he is seeking to create a false sense of momentum,” the spokesperson said. “Our internal count has Ben within 30 votes of Ken, with a surge in support since last week’s union endorsements. Ken has fewer votes than the combined support for Ben and Martin O’Malley and lacks a clear path to the majority.”
O’Malley’s team swiped at Martin, claiming that the 200 figure is inflated and unsubstantiated. Pushing further than Wikler’s team, O’Malley spokesman Chris Taylor told ABC News that “not a single soul” believes Martin, who he asserted is acting “beneath the seriousness of this moment.”
“This race isn’t about inflated and unsubstantiated numbers or tricks and gimmicks,” Taylor said in a statement. “It’s about making the changes we need to win and rebuilding the Democratic Party for the future of our Republic. There is not a single soul running for any DNC office who believes Ken Martin’s count. It’s disrespectful to the 448 voting members of the DNC — many of whom are still making up their minds — and beneath the seriousness of this moment.”
In their statements, O’Malley’s and Wikler’s teams both pointed to their internal numbers, which they said show a much closer race. None of the leading candidates have provided a full list of names of their supporters. O’Malley’s team said it has commitments from 100 members. Wikler’s team declined to offer its internal count.
Even still, public endorsements for Martin seem to outnumber all others.
Over the past few weeks, Martin’s campaign has been rolling out daily endorsements on social media. His bid boasts the support of at least 50 current state party chairs and vice chairs, including party leaders from swing-states Arizona, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, and several members of Congress, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, as well as leaders of the Young Democrats of America.
Wikler has the support from one of the highest-ranking Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and rubber stamps from both centrist and progressive organizations within the party. Last week, Wikler won the support of four powerful public sector unions, including the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
O’Malley has also been rolling out endorsements from individual members, including current and former members of the Congressional Black Caucus, alongside former mayors.
The DNC has been hosting forums that function as debates between candidates for all officer positions. There are two left, one this week and one next week, a few days before the officer elections on Feb. 1.
