Trump's Possible 11th-Hour Cash Cow: Truth Social

Donald Trump has been struggling to come up with the cash to take care of his massive legal bills as he faces down four criminal indictments, a $454 million civil fraud judgment (bond on that is due by Monday), and escalating costs owed to E. Jean Carroll, and he's trying to scrape up the funds wherever he can. But the New York Times notes a "little-known way that Trump could raise money" to pay those legal bills, though it's an idea that's gaining steam by the hour: His social media company, Truth Social, is on the cusp of going public, with stocks set to start trading as early as next week under the "DJT" stock symbol. As of Friday morning, the stock was trading at about $44.

• Merger: Axios reports that on Friday, shareholders from Digital World Acquisition Corp., what's known as a "blank check company," or SPAC (special purpose acquisition company), gave the thumbs-up to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group, Truth Social's parent company.
• Windfall: Truth Social could bring in $300 million from the deal, and the former president's net worth could jump as much as $3.5 billion as a result, per the Wall Street Journal.
• Caveat: Trump won't be allowed to sell any of his Truth Social shares (he owns about 60% of the company) for at least six months, which means he'd have to hold onto them until at least September, per regulatory filings.
• But...: He can obtain a waiver from the SPAC to sell his shares before then, though the Journal notes "it's complicated" (including the fact that he'd have to find someone to buy the stock). Politico adds that if Trump starts dumping his shares, it could also "chill investors" who are watching his moves around the company.
• Other workarounds: Trump could also give the shares to family or put the shares into a trust; if he did the latter, he could then use that as collateral to borrow money.
• In the weeds: The AP dives deeper into the SPAC process, and what could happen in the coming days.

(More Donald Trump stories.)