Trump lashed out at the SEC for investigating his new social-media company, alleging the regulator is biased

• Trump lashed out at the SEC over its investigation into a planned merger involving his new media company.
• In a Monday Newsmax interview, he suggested the investigation was a witch hunt.

Former President Donald Trump lashed out at federal regulators after they were reported to be launching an investigation into the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backing his new social-media venture.

The SPAC, Digital World Acquisition Corp., disclosed in a Monday regulatory report that the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority had opened investigations into the intended merger with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG).

Trump announced in October that he was launching a new social-media company named "TRUTH Social" under TMTG.

The SPAC said that neither the SEC nor FINRA had found any indication of wrongdoing, and that it was cooperating with both bodies.

But in a Monday interview with the conservative Newsmax network, Trump slammed the SEC and suggested the agency was biased.

"This is just a continuation of witch hunts. Anything you do, they want to look at it. They look at it. They don't look at themselves," he said.

He went on to suggest that without his social-media company, the country would have "pure communism."

"If our side doesn't have a voice, eventually … you're going to end up with pure communism," he said. "It's a disgrace what's going on. But you're going to end up with a communist nation."

In the interview, Trump also addressed the Monday announcement by GOP Rep. Devin Nunes of California, a staunch congressional ally of Trump, that he was quitting Congress to work as TMTG's CEO.

"I don't know anything about the SEC," Trump said. "I do know that Devin is fantastic."

SPACs have been attracting scrutiny as increasingly popular ways of taking companies public through mergers, by allowing shortcuts through some legal and financial requirements.

Trump was banned from mainstream social media platforms in the wake of the January 6 insurrection. In October, he said he was "excited" to communicate with his supporters via TRUTH Social.