Former President Donald Trump's new social media company is preparing for the event that he becomes a convicted felon.
Forbes reports that the merger agreement that's needed for Trump's TRUTH Social platform to get off the ground contains a clause dealing with Trump's ownership of the company should a "material disruptive event" occur, which it specifically defines as either Trump running for the presidency or Trump getting convicted of a felony.
While there are few details in the document about how Trump would retain ownership of the company should such an event occur, Forbes notes that owning a public company would be very challenging for Trump even if he weren't sent to prison.
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
"Trump previously led such a business, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts," the publication writes. "Shareholders sued after he used the publicly traded company to buy a casino he personally owned at a suspiciously high valuation. Trump fought the allegations for a half decade, then settled around 2002 without admitting wrongdoing."
Michael Klausner, a business and law professor at Stanford, tells Forbes that taking the helm of a public company is a landmine for Trump.
"I expect he will be on the wrong end of a securities-fraud suit before long," he said. "I can't imagine him being any more truthful about his business than he is about anything else. Especially when it comes to size—the company, his following on the platform, crowds or other size-related facts—he just makes it up."
Read more about TRUTH Social:
