Trump was offered 40 percent stake in Parler, claims report
What's the story
According to documents claimed to have been seen by Parler-ownership">BuzzFeed News, the Trump Organization was in talks with free-speech platform Parler, allegedly during Donald Trump's presidential term.
The negotiations reportedly involved making Parler the president's primary platform. BuzzFeed claims the Trump Organization was offered a 40 percent stake in return.
Although Trump evidently dismissed the alleged offer, BuzzFeed claims the discussions "raise legal concerns".
Nice try though
BuzzFeed fails to find evidence of Trump's involvement
The alleged talks between Trump's campaign and Parler began last summer and were revisited in November when Trump lost the election.
BuzzFeed reports Trump Organization was offered a 40 percent stake in the company if Trump agreed to post exclusive content on Parler hours before posting anywhere else.
However, the news portal failed to find any evidence of Trump's involvement in the discussion.
False accusations
Parler gained users after was Trump de-platformed from Twitter
Parler recently fired its CEO after Big Tech nuked it off the internet for what Facebook was eventually caught doing—that is, serving as the launchpad for the Capitol violence.
Now inoperable, Parler was preferred by those disenfranchised by Big Tech censorship, especially after Trump's unpersoning.
BuzzFeed made uncorroborated claims citing former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale discussing Parler's proposition with Trump during his term.
Clutching at straws
Trump wasn't involved in discussions: Parscale
Meanwhile, Parscale has told BuzzFeed that Trump was never part of the discussions.
The website cited unsubstantiated sources saying Parscale and Trump's campaign lawyer Alex Cannon met with Parler CEO John Matze in June 2020.
The report goes on to claim White House counsel's office stopped the talks as such a deal would violate ethics and anti-bribery rules.
Unverified claims
Cannon and Parler's ex-CEO Matze decline BuzzFeed's request to comment
All parties reportedly involved in this deal either refused or ignored BuzzFeed's request for a comment.
Even as the portal's sources remain uncorroborated and unnamed, the attempt to implicate former President Trump despite him staying away from Parler comes across as a desperate attempt to stir up controversy.
Parler maintains Trump never had an account on its platform.