Trump Media & Technology Group may have lost $4 billion in value since the stock plummeted on reports the company makes no money, but that hasn't kept the company's executives from raking in big salaries, bonuses and stock options as investors and analysts question the long-term viability of the parent company of Truth Social . Stock in the now-public technology company launched on Monday at $79.38 before going into a freefal l all week and ending Friday at $40.49. A substantial reason for the collapse was attributed to an auditor's report that the company lost $58 million last year while only generating $4 million in revenue . ALSO READ: 11 ways Trump doesn’t become president According to a deep dive into executive compensation at the company, the
Washington Post is reporting that CEO and president Devin Nunes, who left
Congress to take a position with the fledgling company, is doing well despite the company's struggles. According to the report, Nunes made $750,000 in base salary last year which was bumped to a solid d $1 million this year. Along with a grant of 115,000 shares of stock in the company worth approximately $4.6 million, Nunes is also in line for a hefty bonus for sticking around after the massive 2023 losses. The Post is reporting, "Nunes, a former
Republican congressman from
California, also will receive a $600,000 lump-sum 'retention bonus' this month. A bonus agreement signed by Nunes said the money was designed to help “ensure the continuity” of Trump Media’s business." Nunes is not alone in benefiting mightily, with the report noting, "Dan Scavino Jr., a longtime Trump aide who led his White House’s
Social Media operation and is now advising Trump’s presidential campaign, was paid $240,000 last year through a consulting agreement with his company, Hudson Digital. Scavino will also receive a $600,000 retention bonus this month. Trump Media also issued a $2.2 million 'executive promissory note' to Scavino. The company gave similar promissory notes to other executives, which automatically converted on the day of the merger into stock. The filings do not specify whether Scavino’s note was converted." You can read more about the salaries and bonuses paid to the Trump execs here. Ahead of the 2024 election, Mark Cook has agreed to pack his suitcase and travel throughout his state of
Arizona "for a mission he said he was called to by God," according to The Guardian . He's "one of several quasi-disciples of Mike Lindell and other big-name
election influencers who have been spreading the hand-count gospel around the country since 2020, when
Donald Trump began claiming without evidence that ballot tabulating machines were rigged against him." It is Cook's, and other right-wing activist's belief that "eliminating mail-in voting, counting all ballots cast at polling places on the night of the election and, most importantly, doing the counting by hand," will save future elections. The Guardian reports : The push to hand-count ballots is ramping up, albeit with spotty success, as the 2024 election nears, according to a review by the Guardian and Votebeat. If more localities decide to try hand-counting in the November election, results could be inaccurate, untrustworthy or delayed, fostering more distrust in elections. In places that opt not to hand-count, supporters of the practice could use this choice as a reason to question or refuse to sign off on certification. The news outlet emphasized, "Either way, it raises the risk of throwing the 2024 election into chaos."
American Oversight Executive Director Heather Sawyer told The Guardian hand-counting ballot "just gives additional grounds for calling into question the results of
elections when there are no valid grounds. There’s no good reason to do it. And there’s lots of room for mischief and problems." Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, according to the report, voted against switching to hand-counting, telling the news outlet "he voted no on hand-counting because, along with the legal reasons, it would be expensive and error-prone, and it attempts to fix a non-existent problem." Johnson emphasized, "There is no upside to it." CONTINUE READING Show less Questions raised by
New York Attorney General Letitia James about the man who stepped in to finance Donald Trump's $175 million appeals bond took center stage on MSNBC's "The Weekend" on Sunday morning with even more questions being raised. Sitting down with co-hosts Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele and Symone Sanders-Townsend. MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted that Don Hankey, chair of the LA-based Hankey Group and owner of the Knight Specialty Insurance Company, has given conflicting answers about collateral his company accepted when putting up the bond for Trump's financial fraud conviction appeal. Speaking with the hosts, she explained, "Don Hankey has given a number of interviews, he's been surprisingly forthcoming with a number of outlets including our own, but his precise statements have differed a little. But he told one outlet it was all in cash, he told another it was cash and a little bit of investment-grade bonds but he couldn't quite remember." ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why keeping Trump from the
White House is all that matters "If somebody pledged collateral to me and I wasn't usually in the surety bond business, I would sure as heck remember what the collateral looked like if I was going to loan them or essentially put up for them $175 million. James has reasonable questions to ask," she elaborated. Delving deeper into what would happen if Trump lost his appeal and had to come up with the close to half billion he was penalized, Rubin pointed out the dilemma Hankey and Trump would both face. "Trump has to cover the difference and how he does that remains a mystery," the legal analyst told the panel. "In part because it's not securitized for the rest as Chuck [Rosenberg] just pointed out." "If and when James wins on appeal to the full satisfaction of that $454 million — and by the way, that will grow by the day with post-judgment interest, if upheld on appeal it will be substantially larger than that by the time we reach that judgment months in the future— she will have to figure out where Donald trump's assets are, which of them she can most quickly seize or enforce upon," she explained. "Many of them are already pledged to other lenders. For example, we know that Axos Bank in which Don Hankey is the largest individual shareholder, has $225 million of outstanding loans to Donald Trump on just two properties: the commercial portion of
Trump Tower and the Doral
golf Course." "Mmm-hmm. There it is," co-host Steele interjected as Sanders-Townsend exclaimed, "That bank has problems." Watch below or at the link . MSNBC 04 07 2024 08 16 17 youtu.be CONTINUE READING Show less House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-OH) on Sunday accused fellow members of Congress of repeating
Russian propaganda. During an interview on
CNN, host Jake Tapper noted that Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said that Russian propaganda had "infected a good chunk of [his] party's base." "He singled out primetime shows on conservative channels," Tapper pointed out. "Do you agree with him? And how big is this problem?" ALSO READ: MAGA congressional candidate:
Michelle Obama might be a man, bring back Aunt Jemima "Oh, it is absolutely true," Turner agreed. "We see directly coming from
Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor." "I mean, there are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and
Ukraine is over
NATO, which, of course, it is not," he added. "Now, to the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian versus democracy battle, which is what it is." Watch the video below from CNN. CONTINUE READING Show less