Top executives at former President Donald Trump’s media company have reportedly been forced out of their jobs in retaliation for coming forward with complaints that CEO Devin Nunes was mismanaging the firm.
Nunes, the former Republican congressman who was tapped as CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, was the subject of an anonymous “whistleblower” complaint that was sent to the company’s board of directors, according to a report in ProPublica.
The complaint reportedly alleged that Nunes, who has been branded a “proverbial loser” by Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities after the market maker was blamed for Trump Media’s sagging stock price, misused funds, hired foreign contractors and interfered with product development.
Former employees of the company which operates the Truth Social platform claimed that the chief operating officer, Andrew Northwall, and chief product officer, Sandro De Moraes, were forced out in retaliation, according to the ProPublica report.
Two other lower-level staffers also left the firm. The company disclosed the departure of the COO in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
Northwall resigned from Trump Media late last month, according to the SEC filing, adding that the company plans to “transition his duties internally.” No further details were provided about the resignation.
He joined the company in December 2021 according to his LinkedIn page.
On Truth Social, Northwall wrote on Thursday that he had “decided to resign from my role at Trump Media.” He added that he was “incredibly grateful” to Trump and Nunes “for this opportunity.”
“As I step back, I look forward to focusing more on my family and returning to my entrepreneurial journey,” the statement said.
De Moraes has not commented publicly, though he did change his Truth Social status in his bio as “Former Chief Product Officer” of Trump Media.
Trump Media responded to the ProPublica report by accusing the news outlet of waging “an increasingly absurd campaign…likely at the behest of political interest groups, to damage” the company “based on false and defamatory allegations and vague innuendo.”
The company said that the ProPublica story “utterly fabricates implications of improper and even illegal conduct that have no basis in reality.”
“TMTG strictly adheres to all laws and applicable regulations,” the company said.
Nunes, a top Trump ally during his presidency, was named CEO of Trump Media in 2021. According to ProPublica, the company hired a lawyer to investigate the whistleblower claims and to interview staffers.
Last week, employees who were interviewed by the lawyer were told that they were being pushed out, according to the report.
A human resources director and a producer designer were among those who were forced out alongside Northwall and De Moraes, ProPublica reported.
The employees were asked to sign an agreement pledging not to make public claims of wrongdoing against the company in exchange for severance packages.
Shares of Trump Media have been considered a meme stock by some market experts, which is a nickname given to stocks that get caught up in buzz online and shoot way beyond what traditional analysis says they’re worth.
The stock has fluctuated for several months, with trading largely driven by individual investors who are typically considered less sophisticated than day traders.
Late last month Trump Media’s stock fell to its lowest level ever on the first trading day that its biggest shareholder, Trump, was free to sell his stake in the company behind the Truth Social platform.
Trump Media, whose shares are commonly called TMTG, started trading publicly in March. When the company made its debut on the Nasdaq in March, the shares hit a high of $79.38.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology rose slightly to $16.20 before the market open on Friday.
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