Trump Media CEO urges House GOP leaders to probe possible 'manipulation' of DJT stock

• Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes sent a letter to allies on Capitol Hill to press them to investigate potential manipulation of his company's stock.
• Nunes asked Republican lawmakers to probe "anomalous trading" of the stock, which trades under the ticker DJT on the Nasdaq.
• The stock price has lost more than half of its value since its trading debut and continues to trend down in volatile sessions.
• The company, which created the Truth Social app, is majority-owned by former President Donald Trump.

Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes on Tuesday urged House Republican committee leaders to investigate possible "unlawful manipulation" of the company's stock.

Nunes, himself a former House GOP chair, in a letter asked them to probe "anomalous trading" of the stock in order to gauge the extent of the alleged manipulation and "whether any laws including RICO statutes and tax evasion laws were violated."

The request doubles down on Nunes' claim that Trump Media, which trades under the ticker DJT, is the apparent victim of "naked" short selling, the practice of selling a company's shares without first borrowing them for that purpose.

Trump Media, which began trading on the Nasdaq on March 26 after completing a lengthy public merger, was far and away the most expensive U.S. stock to short as of early April.

Brokers therefore "have a significant financial incentive to lend non-existent shares," Nunes wrote.

The probe is necessary to protect the company's shareholders and to ensure that "the perpetrators of any illegal activity can be held to account," he wrote.

The CEO addressed the letter to four House committee leaders: Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Ways and Means Chairman Jason