— DrewDiligence (@KarmaCollects) July 15, 2024
The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump raises numerous questions and speculations. In light of Trump’s significant financial holdings and the complex dynamics within our financial markets, the situation becomes even more intriguing. Given Trump’s ownership of 114.75 million shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), his recent meeting with Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel Securities, the shooter’s connection to BlackRock, and the letter sent by Devin Nunes, CEO of $DJT, to Congress outlining potential unlawful trading activities, it is worth exploring a theory that implicates major financial players BlackRock and Citadel in the assassination attempt on former President Trump. This writing presents a hypothetical scenario examining how and why these two financial giants could have collaborated in such an extreme action. This is just a theory, so put on your tinfoil hats, folks.
On April 23rd, 2024, Devin Nunes, former Congressman and current CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, sent a letter to the Chairpersons of The Committee on Financial Services, The Committee on the Judiciary, The Committee on Ways and Means, and The Committee on Oversight and Reform. In his letter, Nunes states that “DJT has appeared every day on Nasdaq’s ‘Reg SHO threshold list,’ which is indicative of unlawful trading activity. This is particularly troubling given that ‘naked’ short selling often entails sophisticated market participants profiting at the expense of retail investors.”
Nunes then directly implicates Citadel, calling for an investigation into their trading of the DJT security by stating: “Furthermore, data made available to us indicate that just four market participants have been responsible for over 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded: Citadel Securities, VIRTU Americas, G1 Execution Services, and Jane Street Capital.” Nunes continues by saying, “Overall, we assess there are strong indications of unlawful manipulation of DJT stock. As such, I respectfully request that you open an investigation of anomalous trading of DJT to determine its extent and purpose, and whether any laws including RICO statutes and tax evasion laws were violated, so that the perpetrators of any illegal activity can be held to account.”
At the end of his letter to these Congressional Committees, Nunes references the ongoing $MMTLP
situation as a current event which also could be indicative of the practice of naked shorting running rampant at the institutional level to suggest that the DJT situation is not unique. (https://www.sec.gov/i?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001849635/000114036124021595/ny20026576x11_8k.htm)
In response to this letter, Fortune reports that Citadel Securities CEO, Ken Griffin, stated that Nunes is a “proverbial loser.” Fortune further reported that a spokesperson for Citadel stated, “Nunes is exactly the type of person Donald Trump would have fired on ‘The Apprentice,’” and that if Nunes were on Citadel’s payroll, it would “fire him” because “ability and integrity are at the center of everything we do.” (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ken-griffin-citadel-calls-trump-104800551.html)
Fast forward to July 2024. It is reported that Donald Trump recently met with Ken Griffin, who happens to be one of if not the single largest individual major Republican donor in history. But in the lead-up to and aftermath of their meeting, both Citadel and Griffin, who has been critical of the former President in the past, have yet to make any financial contributions to the Trump campaign. On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks attempts to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks is described as a loner who had no political leanings and not many friends by those who knew him. (https://abc7chicago.com/post/donald-trump-rally-shooting-suspect-thomas-matthew-crooks/15061083
Curiously, in a BIZARRE coincidence, it is discovered that Crooks recently appeared in an advertisement for BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with US$10 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023. What are the odds? Of all the places in the world, BlackRock chose this school in Butler, Pennsylvania, and of the handful of students that could have been included, Crooks was one of them. And he just happened to go on to attempt to assassinate the projected future President of the United States. Upon the situation being brought to their attention, BlackRock immediately pulled the ads that Crooks appears in. Experts say that Crooks could be identified as having the profile of a vulnerable individual who could be coerced or incentivized to carry out such a plan. Moreover, this connection, and Crooks’ history, would allow the narrative to be manipulated post-incident, portraying Crooks as a lone actor.
But what is the connection between Citadel and BlackRock? Well, BlackRock and Citadel have a notable business relationship through their financial backing of the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE). This exchange aims to compete with major players like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq by providing a platform with potentially lower compliance costs and different listing standards. As of June 2024, the TXSE has raised about $120 million and plans to start operating as a national securities exchange later this year. (https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/BLACKROCK-INC-11862/news/BlackRock-Citadel-backed-group-to-start-new-national-stock-exchange-in-Texas-WSJ-reports-46904480
In addition to their collaboration on the Texas Stock Exchange, BlackRock and Citadel have several other connections. Citadel Securities has been involved with BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as an authorized participant, helping to facilitate the trading and liquidity of these funds. Furthermore, both companies play significant roles in market-making and trading, where Citadel Securities often acts as a counterpart to BlackRock’s trading activities. Their intertwined roles in financial markets extend beyond any single project, emphasizing their influence on global market structures.
We are talking about two BEHEMOTHS. Gigantic companies that are intertwined with one another, and responsible for TRILLIONS UPON TRILLIONS in total asset management and trading. One being exposed for possible criminal activity directly affects the other and sends their aspirations of launching and being an integral part of an exchange to rival the NYSE and NASDAQ right down the crapper.
*In yet another truly bizarre turn of events, the public learned of more “coincidental” ongoings involving BlackRock in the days following the assassination attempt. Recent SEC filings revealed that shortly before the assassination attempt, Austin Private Wealth, an independent, fee-only advisory firm operating as an SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based out of Austin, Texas, took a short position covering 12 million shares of $DJT via put options. Curiously, in the same period leading up to the assassination attempt, Austin Private Wealth also took a short position of 34 million shares of Rumble (Nasdaq:$RUM), a company viewed by many as a “sister company” to $DJT.
Austin Private Wealth boasts connections to VIPs, including former President George W. Bush. Notably, Austin Private Wealth reportedly has ties to both BlackRock and the George Soros-backed Vanguard Group. While online claims suggest the firm is partially owned by BlackRock and Vanguard, the most recent 13F filings do not substantiate this rumor. However, Austin Private Wealth does own over $34,000,000 worth of DYNF and over $78,000,000 worth of VONE, ETFs managed by BlackRock and Vanguard, respectively. (https://whalewisdom.com/filer/austin-private-wealth-llc
For it’s part, Austin Private Wealth has released a statement via their website stating that the SEC filing which showed their firm taking the large short position in DJT was “incorrect” and that they immediately amended the filing as soon as they learned of the error. Curiously however, there was no mention of the large short position that was taken on Rumble. Also worth noting though, is that in the entire history of Austin Private Wealth’s existence, they have never had an error of this magnitude take place in the process of reporting their positions.
In addition to the foregoing, and aside from the controversy surrounding the aforementioned put options, there has been significant suspicious activity concerning the short interest of DJT as well. John Tabacco, expert in securities lending, founder of LocateStock, and a regular weekly contributor to CNBC and Fox Business, reported on July 16th that “$DJT shorts went from 7M to 15M from July 1-July 12.” (https://x.com/JohnnyTabacco/status/1813199373154586889
This means that the total short position in shares of DJT increased by more than double leading up to the assassination attempt.
Now, what are the odds of all these events occurring simultaneously, coupled with the monumental failures of the United States Secret Service that allowed a 20-year-old to climb a roof 150 yards away from the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential election to attempt an assassination?
According to the experts, the odds of no one knowing anything ahead of time when short interest in $DJT increased significantly the same week that a massive put position was “recorded in error”, while Austin Private Wealth took a 34 million share short position on Rumble at the same exact time, just days before the assassination attempt, are astronomical.*
So what does it all mean, folks? It could very well mean nothing. A series of events that occur coincidentally and without connection. Or it could mean more. It could mean that there are gigantic companies out there that had the network, the money, and the motivation to stop President Trump’s bid for the White House dead in its tracks. Because THEY knew that the naked shorting that many believed to be running rampant on Wall Street directly affected Trump’s pockets and the pockets of those who believe in him. And Trump wouldn’t think twice to expose it and end it. So they would stop at nothing to be able to keep their ATM machine running.
Central to Nunes’ argument is the parallel drawn between the DJT situation and the ongoing issues with MMTLP. The trading halt on MMTLP on December 9th, 2022, before a reconciliation could take place, has left it frozen in time, preventing any resolution of the naked shorting allegations, but also preserving the evidence if those allegations are well founded. Where naked shorting is believed to exist, going into each brokerage that holds shares for their clients and counting the amount of shares they hold for their clients is the simplest way to prove or disprove it. If there is more shares in circulation than the company has authorized, there is your proof of naked shorting. In spite of massive public outcry, and congressional demands for it, that MMTLP share audit still has not taken place. Nunes’ letter, and subsequent reference to the MMTLP situation, serves as an affirmation that an independently audited broker-to-broker share count of MMTLP (and DJT), is the best chance the investing public has to uncover whether these manipulative practices are indeed taking place.
Is all of the above far-fetched? Perhaps. But a few things are for sure though:
1. The attempt to assassinate Donald Trump served only to galvanize the support that he had behind him, while at the same time sending the price of DJT to $40.58 as of this writing. When compared to the trading price at the close of Friday, July 12th, this amounts to a profit of $1.1475 BILLION dollars in added value to President Trump’s position. It was literally a Billion Dollar Shot.
2. Questions related to the possible nefarious activity of Citadel and others as it relates to the $DJT
stock have still gone unanswered by those at the regulatory level, and those in Congress tasked with oversight of these agencies.
3. The $MMTLP situation that Devin Nunes referenced in his letter could have the answers that would unlock the secrets of what is really going on with both securities and virtually all of the same suspected bad actors. For over 19 months, shareholders and former company officers alike have requested a simple share count related to the MMTLP security. Yet, when an act as simple as a broker-to-broker share audit would serve the public interests, restore market confidence, absolve Citadel and similarly situated institutions of any criminal wrongdoing, while proving the SEC’s commitment to protect investors at the highest level, the regulatory establishment have not only cowered away from it but for over a year have refused to perform this audit in direct defiance of requests from over 100+ Congressional representatives.
*Enter JD Vance, the Senator from Ohio. On July 15th, just two days after the assassination attempt, Donald Trump announced that JD Vance would be his running mate. To many, the choice of Vance as a running mate comes as a shocker. After all, JD Vance was one of President Trump’s biggest critics within the Republican Party. Over the last eight years, Vance has made countless critical statements about the former President. Yet, Trump still chose Vance to be his Vice President should he emerge victorious at the polls in November.
What makes JD Vance especially interesting in this context is his tough stance on Wall Street abuses. During his recent speech at the Republican National Convention, as he accepted his party’s nomination for Vice President, Vance firmly stated: “We’re done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street. We’ll commit to the working man.”
Among his various actions against Wall Street, in September 2023, Senator Vance co-authored and co-signed a letter with Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) that was sent to the SEC, inquiring about the circumstances surrounding the aforementioned $MMTLP security and its subsequent trading halt. (https://www.crapo.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/mmtlpsecletter09262023.pdf
This decision begs the question: Was Trump’s choice of JD Vance partly influenced by a desire to send a message to Wall Street? Was this the Presidential candidates way of saying, “If you try to get rid of me, this is who will replace me, and he doesn’t like you at all.” One can only wonder, but it is certainly food for thought.*
This hypothetical theory suggests that BlackRock and Citadel, facing significant regulatory and financial threats due to their market activities, could have resorted to extreme measures to protect their interests. When viewed through this lens, the assassination attempt on Donald Trump is positioned as a desperate effort to eliminate a substantial threat to their operations and maintain their dominance in the financial markets. While speculative, this scenario underscores the complex interplay between financial motivations, political influence, and strategic collaboration in high-stakes situations.
In a world where financial giants wield immense power, the lines between legality and exploitation often blur. The unsettling events surrounding DJT and MMTLP underscore a dire need for transparency and accountability in our financial markets. If left unchecked, the same practices that possibly jeopardized a former President’s life can continue to erode the very foundation of our economic system. This is not just about Donald Trump or a single company’s stock—it’s about safeguarding the integrity of our markets and ensuring that no entity is above the law. Whether the above series of events is just a tin foil hat theory, or has some legs to it, the universally immutable and irrefutable fact is that both DJT and MMTLP investors are entitled to transparency in what is supposed to be the most fundamentally free and fair market in the world. And they still have not gotten it.
As we stand at this crossroads, the call for audits of MMTLP and DJT shares become more than just a procedural request; they symbolize a fight for justice, truth, and the protection of retail investors from institutional malfeasance. The investing public must demand answers and hold those responsible to account. The stakes are too high to ignore. This is our moment to reclaim trust in the system and reaffirm that in a fair market, no player, no matter how powerful, is untouchable.
P.S. I am not suicidal.
To learn more about the MMTLP situation, click here:
Editor’s Note: Sections encapsulated by an asterisk (*) were added to this article after its original publication. These updates provide additional context and information relevant to the ongoing developments discussed in the piece.