Blank check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: DWAC) is risking being delisted from the Nasdaq exchange after it has not paid certain fees to satisfy a continued listing rule.
While the company said it has elected to file an appeal on the Nasdaq notice of delisting and promised to pay the corresponding fees, its non-payment of necessary dues draws parallel from the recent actions of the namesake owner of the SPAC’s target for a reverse merger, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). DWAC is working on a highly extended timeline to close the pending merger deal with former US President Donald Trump’s TMTG.
The company hasn’t explained yet why it hasn’t paid for the listing fee.
Online platform The Daily Beast meanwhile recently described how Trump still hasn’t paid some of the reimbursements to the city police and fire departments from which he secured security detail for his political rallies.
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“In Sioux City, Iowa, for example, the former president still owes more than $11,000 in unpaid reimbursements to the city police and fire departments from a rally he held there on Nov. 3, 2022,” the article’s author Jake Lahut wrote. “While overtime pay to cops and firemen totaled more than $10,000 on the overall tab, Trump’s Save America PAC also rented several parking lots from the city. They failed to cover those expenses, too.”
In Warren, Michigan, a local official who requested anonymity informed The Daily Beast that the city has yet to receive reimbursement from Trump for overtime pay incurred by cops during a MAGA event on Oct. 1, 2022, at the Macomb Sports and Exhibition Center, a 2,800-seat dual arena and convention center.
Trump was joined at the county fairgrounds in Lorain County, Ohio, by Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan for a rally in June 2021. Local police informed The Daily Beast on Tuesday that they couldn’t find any reimbursements for Trump rallies.
Only one of the 30 counties and towns The Daily Beast called to see if they’d been reimbursed for local cops and firefighters attending a Trump event responded saying they had–the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Yet a city clerk’s officer wasn’t even sure it was Trump’s money.
“I don’t write the name, I only write the check number,” explained the official, who also asked that her complete name be withheld. She was unsure whether the reimbursement was paid for by Event Strategies, the principal vendor for Trump rallies, or if it came from someone else.
According to a CTV News study, Trump owed more than $2 million in overtime reimbursement and other expenses by the conclusion of his presidential term in 2021.
The incidence of non-payments has been described by observers as one of the key reasons why Trump rallies are seeing a declining trend in attendance.
“When one considers how much money campaigns raise and spend, it does not seem unreasonable to expect some degree of reimbursement for such demands for service,” Richard Myers, a Colorado cop and the executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, told the Center for Public Integrity and explained why police departments would be less than enthusiastic to join a Trump rally.
In Trump rallies, a dozen Secret Service officials oversee the queue as attendees and VIP guests go through metal detectors. Behind the first security line, the majority of first responders in the given venue are local cops; county sheriffs and state police are typically usually on the scene, as are emergency fire department first responders.
Information for this briefing was found via The Daily Beast and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
