Nunes also criticized President Joe Biden for mentioning Trump Media's stock price in a speech earlier this week.
“Isn't this strange?” Nunes said.
In his remarks in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Biden criticized Donald Trump, his Republican opponent in the November elections, as Trump Media shares fell from their initial price of more than $70.
“If Trump’s shares in Truth Social — his company — fell any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his company,” Biden said.
Trump Media stock, which trades under the ticker DJT, rose this weekend, but has fallen sharply from its peak. This leaves Trump, the company's largest shareholder, with less value on paper for his 60% stake.
Nunes' Newsmax comments doubled down on his previous theory that DJT's stock decline was at least partly attributable to alleged illegal market manipulation.
Earlier Friday, Nasdaq CEO Nunes warned that a drop in Trump Media's stock price could be the result of “naked” short selling, a trading practice in which a seller bets that the stock price will fall. It involves the trader selling shares that have not been borrowed or arranging to be borrowed.
“Reports indicate that as of April 3, 2024, DJT stock was by far the ‘most expensive U.S. stock shorted,’ meaning brokers have a significant financial incentive to lend non-existent shares,” Nunes wrote in a submitted letter. With the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to CNBC.
Trump Media debuted on the Nasdaq, Nunes said.Reg SHO Threshold List,“Which may indicate illegal business behaviour.
However, the SEC notes on its website that naked short selling “is not necessarily a violation of the federal securities laws” unless it is intentionally deployed to manipulate the market. It also says that a stock's appearance on the Reg SHO threshold list is not necessarily a sign of illegal trading activity.
Later that day, Citadel Securities, one of the market firms mentioned in the letter, mocked Nunes, calling him “a proverbial loser trying to blame ‘naked short selling’ for his stock price drop.”
In an interview with Newsmax, Nunes seemed to respond to this statement: “If you think there's nothing wrong, you say there's nothing wrong. Don't come out and attack me personally.”
Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin is a major donor to GOP candidates, including Nunes, who served as a Republican House representative from California before taking the helm at Trump Media.
