- Will Wilkerson was co-founder of Trump Media Company. He filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC in August.
- Wilkerson presented several allegations against the company to The Washington Post.
- A Post email revealed that Trump was being retaliated against by another co-founder.
A co-founder of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, said former President Donald Trump pushed another executive to give some of his shares to Melania Trump and retaliated when the request was declined, according to a Washington Post report.
Will Wilkerson, who filed for a Whistleblower complaint regarding the company to SECIn August, the outlet made the claim in a Saturday story. The Post obtained Wilkerson’s complaint and published the allegations in a story.
According to the SEC complaint Trump had been granted a 90% stake when the company was founded. Wilkerson, however, told the Post that he was at the time with Andy Litinsky, his co-founder when Trump called. The Post was informed that Wilkerson was with Andy Litinsky at the time when Trump called. A merger agreement was recently made by the company.This would boost its stock’s market value. Wilkerson claimed that Melania Trump asked Litinsky to donate some of his shares.
Wilkerson explained to the Post that Litinsky had resisted and explained that the gift would lead to a tax bill that he wouldn’t be able pay. Trump didn’t care. He replied, “Do what you have to do.”
Litinsky, a former contestant in “The Apprentice,” was expelled from the company’s board of directors five months laterWilkerson believed this was retaliation. Litinsky, according to a March email obtained the Post, believed he had also been retaliated.
Litinsky wrote: According to a screenshot of an email published by the Post, Litinsky stated that Trump had repeatedly asked me to give my TMTG equity “to Melania Trump” over the past two months. “I have told him many times that I have earned this equity and that ‘gifting’ it to Melania Trump would be an taxable event for which I cannot afford to pay the tax,” Litinsky wrote.
Litinsky claimed that Trump threatened to “blow-up the company” if he didn’t meet his demands. He also stated that he believed Trump was now “retaliating”, and would be seeking legal counsel according to the screenshot in the email.
Insider asked for comment from Trump spokesperson, but he didn’t respond immediately. Litinsky did no immediate respond to Insider’s request of comment through ZideLitinsky Media (his consulting and production company).
In a statement provided to Insider, a representative for Trump Media & Technology Group blasted the Post’s reporting and touted Truth Social’s successes.
“As Chairman, TMTG, Donald Trump hired Devin Nunes to be CEO to create a culture and build a world class team to lead Truth Social,” said the statement. Launched in the Apple and Google apps stores, attracted millions and “executed multiple features updates”.
The statement stated that Washington Post published a story that contained knowingly false statements and concocted psychodramas. The statement didn’t comment on specific allegations.
Wilkerson, who was serving in the role of senior vice president for operations, claimed he was fired after speaking to the Post. Insider requested comment from Wilkerson’s legal team, but Wilkerson told the Post that he was cooperating with them. New York and SEC prosecutors investigate Trump Media.
