Donald Trump left Trump Tower in New York City on October 18, 2021.
The SEC and another market regulator have asked for information about stock trading and communications with Trump's company before the deal was announced, according to a new filing.
Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, disclosed the investigations by the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in an 8-K filing.
The merger announcement with Trump Media & Technology Group preceded the public announcement of the October 20, 2021 Merger Agreement, according to DWAC.
The stock price of DWAC increased after the deal was announced. The shares of the blank-check firm soared to as high as $175 per share in the days after the merger was disclosed, after they had been trading at $10 per share.
The SEC sent DWAC a voluntary information and document request that sought documents related to DWAC board meetings, policies about stock trading, the identities of certain investors and details of communications between DWAC and Trump's social media firm.
The filing comes just two days after Trump Media & Technology Group and DWAC said the SPAC had reached agreements to obtain $1 billion in committed capital from a diverse group of institutional investors.
It comes three weeks after Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked the SEC to investigate possible securities violations.
According to news reports, DWAC may have committed securities violations by holding private and undisclosed discussions about the merger as early as May 2021.
The investigations by the SEC and FINRA were done before Warren requested them.
The company said in the filing that it has received inquiries from regulatory authorities.
The DWAC received a request for information from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in late October and early November of 2021, regarding a review of trading that preceded the public announcement of the October 20, 2021 Merger Agreement.
The inquiry should not be seen as an indication that the securities involved in the inquiry have been found to be in violation of federal securities laws, or that the person who effected the transactions has been found to be in violation.
Trump Media and Technology Group will develop the social media app.
The SEC requested documents relating to meetings of the Board of Directors, policies and procedures relating to trading, the identification of banking, telephone, and email addresses, and identities.
The investigation does not mean that the SEC has concluded that anyone violated the law or that the SEC has a negative opinion of DWAC.
A spokeswoman for the company did not respond to the request.
CNBC's Kevin Breuninger reports additional reporting.
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