Stocks of companies linked to former U.S. President Donald Trump reacted favorably on news of his 30-count fraud indictment. He will be standing trial for charges relating to money he was said to have paid in order to hide some affairs
There is no known reason why investors chose to send shares of those “Trump companies” soaring, although, from previous trends, the stocks tend to swing wildly — spiking and calming whenever Trump makes headlines.
The exact charges that Trump is been indicted for are still unknown pending when he is will appear in court for his arraignment on Tuesday, though Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could unveil them sooner.
The case is just one of at least three criminal probes against Trump, who during his single tenure as president was impeached twice – the only president in U.S. history that went through that ordeal.
Donald Trump is also under investigation for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. The federal special counsel is also investigating Trump’s role in hundreds of classified documents being found at his Florida home and private club.
The New York City case is mainly about thousands of dollars Trump paid ahead of the 2016 election to two women, including porn actress Stormy Daniels, to remain quiet about affairs he allegedly had with them, which prosecutors are expected to say Trump tried to illegally hide.
Trump on his part denied the affair but acknowledged the payments.
In 2018, an old ex-Trump attorney, Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws and admitted to paying hush money of $130,000 and $150,000 to two women “at the direction of a candidate for federal office” — a clear reference to Trump, though he was not named — “with the purpose of influencing the [2016] election,” according to court documents.
However, despite the litany of Trump’s nemesis, Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank-check firm seeking to merge with Trump’s media venture, spiked by 10% on Friday. Phunware (PHUN), the company that developed the Trump campaign’s mobile app for the 2020 presidential race, rose by 3%. And Rumble (RMBL), a conservative video platform that partners with Trump’s Truth Social app, also gained 3% in value.
