Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities lambasted Devin Nunes, the CEO of Truth Social’s parent company, as a “proverbial loser” after the former Republican congressman blamed Wall Street market makers for Trump Media and Technology Group’s tanking stock price.
Griffin — a major Republican donor who gave money to Nunes in 2021, according to a Federal Election Commission filing — unloaded on the former lawmaker in denying any wrongdoing Friday.
“Devin Nunes is the proverbial loser who tries to blame ‘naked short selling’ for his falling stock price,” a Citadel Securities spokesperson told The Post.
Shares closed Friday at $36.38, down about $25 from its debut price on March 26 — despite rallying in the past three days.
Nunes asked Nasdaq to have the brokers reveal their short positions.
While investors have been trying to short Trump Media, there are very few shares of the company available for trading — which makes it expensive to borrow shares.
In 2021, Nunes left Congress to head up Trump Media and Technology Group, which was a private company at the time.
TMTG merged with a “blank check company” — Digital World Acquisition Corp — making the firm’s stock available for trading on the Nasdaq.
Devin Nunes, the CEO of Truth Social’s parent company, came under fire from Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities, calling him a “proverbial loser” after the former Republican congressman attributed Trump Media and Technology Group’s plunging stock price to Wall Street market makers.
In a letter to the Nasdaq Stock Market on Thursday, Nunes accused Citadel Securities and other parties of “market manipulation”—more specifically, “naked short selling,” in which traders sell shares of a company that the seller had not actually borrowed for that purpose. This accusation set off a war of words.
According to a Federal Election Commission filing, Griffin, a significant Republican donor, gave money to Nunes in 2021. On Friday, Griffin attacked the former lawmaker by denying any wrongdoing.
A Citadel Securities representative told The Post, “Devin Nunes is the archetypal loser who tries to blame ‘naked short selling’ for his falling stock price.”.
“Donald Trump would have fired someone like Nunes from The Apprentice. Since ability and integrity are the cornerstones of everything we do, if he worked for Citadel Securities, we would fire him. “.
Trump Media immediately retaliated.
“The last company on earth that should lecture anyone on ‘integrity’ is Citadel Securities, a corporate behemoth that has been fined and censured for an incredibly wide range of offenses, including issues related to naked short selling,” a spokesperson told The Post. “Citadel Securities is world famous for screwing over everyday retail investors at the behest of other corporations.”.
Since going public last month, TMTG’s stock price has experienced a wild ride, losing more than half of its value due to numerous Wall Street bets that the company would fail.
Despite rising over the previous three days, shares ended Friday at $36.38, down roughly $25 from their launch price on March 26.
Nunes claimed that traders had a “significant financial incentive to lend non-existent shares” to short sellers due to the large premiums they could charge in a letter he sent to Adena Friedman, the CEO of Nasdaq.
According to the data Nunes provided, “just four market participants—Citadel Securities, VIRTU Americas, G1 Execution Services, and Jane Street Capital—have been accountable for over 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded.”.
Nunes requested that Nasdaq request that the brokers disclose their short positions.
VIRTU chose not to respond.
Nasdaq and Jane Street Capital have been contacted by The Post for comments. It was not possible to contact G1 Execution Services.
Due to the limited number of Trump Media shares that are available for trading, it is costly to borrow shares even though investors have been attempting to short the company.
Griffin, on the other hand, is not fond of the likely Republican nominee, who possesses a sixty percent interest in TMTG.
He called on the Republican Party to reject Trump and support Governor of Florida instead. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador. Trump trounced both in the primaries.
Griffin recently declared that Trump was “good for our capital markets” at a conference, projecting that the former president will defeat incumbent Joe Biden in November.
Nunes departed Congress in 2021 to become the CEO of the then-private Trump Media and Technology Group. Records indicate that three months prior to his resignation, Griffin gave $5,800 to his campaign.
After TMTG and Digital World Acquisition Corp. merged, the company’s stock was put up for Nasdaq trading.
