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Trump Plays Presidential Immunity Card In Truth Social Lawsuit Battle

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Trump Plays Presidential Immunity Card In Truth Social Lawsuit Battle

President-elect Donald Trump is seeking to halt a lawsuit against Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT) by invoking presidential immunity.

What Happened: Attorneys for Trump and Federal Bureau of Investigation chief nominee Kash Patel, and former Congressman Devin Nunes, argued for “temporary presidential immunity” that would cover Trump, according to a Dec. 6 filing in Delaware Chancery Court, reported Bloomberg.

The lawsuit, brought by Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss — former “The Apprentice” contestants — challenged Trump’s alleged attempt to unfairly dilute their 8.6% company stake.

The plaintiffs claimed they were improperly excluded from the company’s initial public offering.

See Also: Nvidia China Antitrust Probe May ‘Remain Unsolved’ In Near Term Says Top Analyst; Investors Should Be Prepared For Increased Scrutiny

Trump filed a countersuit in Florida state court, claiming they breached an agreement regarding the establishment of Trump Media and were not entitled to the stake.

Why It Matters: Litinsky and Moss sold approximately $11 million in Truth Social shares in September, representing around $150 million at the time.

With 60% of the company’s stake, Trump is the biggest shareholder in the company that manages the Truth Social platform. He has pledged not to sell his shares which lost billions in value after going public but surged following his election.

This legal maneuver follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity, which Trump has leveraged to challenge existing criminal cases. While federal cases have been dropped, state prosecutions in New York and Georgia remain active.

On Election Day, Trump Media reported a 6% decline in third-quarter net sales compared to the previous year, totaling $1.01 million, with all revenue generated through advertising on the Truth Social platform.

Price Action: DJT shares rose 1.73% on Monday, closing at $35.34. However, after hours, the stock fell 0.25% to $35.25. Year-to-date DJT DJT shares have surged by 102.52%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Image via Shutterstock

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Posted-In: Andy Litinsky Devin Nunes Donald Trump Kash PatelNews Legal Tech Media

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