Based on trade positioning available on Fintel, Austin Private Wealth, LLC, a Certified Financial Planning group out of Austin, TX, took massive short positions on Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) the day before an assassination attempt nearly took Donald Trump's life.
As we reported yesterday, TMTG, ticker symbol DJT on NASDAQ, has been the victim of naked short selling in the past, according to CEO Devin Nunes. Nunes had leveled accusations at hedge fund giant Citadel Securities, as well as UBS and Cowen & Co. Surely, Austin Private Wealth (APW) is now in his sights as well. Nunes has been silent about the matter on social media in the past several days.
The size of the short positions taken by APW would have almost certainly been cataclysmic for TMTG and Rumble. Quite ingenious, really: a plan that would have killed a man, destroyed his vast fortune, his family, and an essential platform used by alt-media to report on such crimes.
All while enriching his enemies.
Both the DJT short and the Rumble short still appear as open positions on Fintel as of 12:14pm EDT.
Manhattan gadfly Jason Goodman (aka "Crowdsource The Truth" on X) managed to get AJ Wagner on the phone last night and recorded the call. Wagner, an officer of Austin Private Wealth, claimed that the position his firm took on DJT was a "reporting error."
Wagner doesn't deny that APW took the position, just that there was an error. A statement released by the company seeks to clarify:
No mention of the Rumble short. The Manhattan attempted to contact APW to discuss the uncanny coincidence of the DJT and Rumble shorts; the phone was not answered, and no one has responded to our message at the time of writing.
Part of Goodman's concern is Semitic. Goodman is Jewish, and he raised the fact that others online have connected the dots on charities APW donates to, such as the ADL. A quick look at charitable giving on APW's website confirms the claim.
Goodman claims that this connection has led to an increase in anti-Semitism online. While that may or may not be true, what is more concerning are APW's other financial ties. Majority stakeholders in AWP include Larry Fink's BlackRock, and Vanguard, as seen in the company's latest 13F filing.
Another odd coincidence: US Secret Service head Kim Cheatle was spotted at the RNC. She was accosted by GOP Senators. The question is, why was she there? It's hard to think of a place where she would be less welcome.
Cheatle has been subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and has agreed to comply with the subpoena.
This is a developing story.
