Parler, A Donald J. Trump Brand

Ryan Mac and Rosie Gray, reporting for Buzzfeed News:

The Trump Organization negotiated on behalf of then-president Donald Trump to make Parler his primary social network, but it had a condition: an ownership stake in return for joining, according to documents and four people familiar with the conversations. The deal was never finalized, but legal experts said the discussions alone, which occurred while Trump was still in office, raise legal concerns with regards to anti-bribery laws.

Talks between members of Trump’s campaign and Parler about Trump’s potential involvement began last summer, and were revisited in November by the Trump Organization after Trump lost the 2020 election to the Democratic nominee and current president, Joe Biden. Documents seen by BuzzFeed News show that Parler offered the Trump Organization a 40% stake in the company. It is unclear as to what extent the former president was involved with the discussions.

Nothing says “capitalism” like shady white collar crime wherein you bribe a corrupt demagogue president with partial ownership of your company in exchange for his exclusive endorsement and use of your product.

Parler was a dangerous joke. John Matze was a dangerous joke. Donald Trump was a dangerous joke. Rebekah Mercer is still dangerous and she isn’t a joke: it’s people like her who use their money to pull the strings, and it’s people like her that we need to be paying attention to.