Proof readers will be well aware that Proof has reported both here and elsewhere—for instance, in the New York Times-bestselling Proof Trilogy—that former president Donald Trump has a history of directly or indirectly promising money, jobs, and/or favors to those federal witnesses who testify before Congress or speak to the DOJ or FBI in a fashion consistent with his own interests, leading to some understandable concern that if any such individual were to have been involved in Trump’s get-richer-quick NFT scam it could position that scam as part of a larger January 6 cover-up.
As the subhed of this new Proof report indicates, and as the last Proof report on Mr. Trump’s NFT venture disclosed, both the Washington Post and New York Times saw leading journalists on their payrolls draw conclusions about two Trump-launched companies—CIC Ventures and CIC Digital—that treated the two as one and the same, and therefore possibly at the head of a January 6 Witness Tampering scheme.
But Proof can now report, on the basis of contact with a person confirmed to have knowledge of the situation—and to whom Proof has granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely—that while former Trump “body man” Nicholas Luna was indeed involved with CIC Ventures for the purposes of signing contracts for Mr. Trump’s post-presidential speaking engagements, he had no involvement, formal or otherwise, with CIC Digital, a distinct venture that ultimately contracted with a dodgy entity named NFT INT LLC to mint Trump’s chintzy, much-mocked NFTs. Indeed, per this Proof source, CIC Digital was founded after Luna left Trump’s employ in October 2021.
This source believes CIC Digital to have been run, instead, by individuals associated with (or even formally part of) the Trump Organization. This source further states that there were no contacts between Luna and the listed co-director for CIC Ventures, Trump lawyer John Marion.
These revelations keep active the following key questions: (1) why a Trump lawyer (Marion) was made the co-director of an entity exclusively associated with Trump’s speaking engagements; (2) whether Marion was also involved with CIC Digital; and (3) whether Marion was given his business role(s) in the labyrinthine world of Trump single-purpose (sometimes shell) corporations as a means to avoid paying him for legal services rendered—whether through corporate perks or write-offs or by allowing Marion to do side business under Trump’s aegis and/or brand, as appears to have been the case in Ukraine with fellow Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani—or to generate a zone of attorney-client privilege in the context of a Witness Tampering (or other criminal) scheme.
{Note: According to this same Proof source, the “CIC” in “CIC Ventures” and “CIC Digital” is believed to correspond to the phrase “Commander-in-Chief”, which of course former president Trump was before losing his 2020 reelection campaign by more than seven million popular votes and 74 electoral votes. Trump has a post-election history of attempting to use images and phrases associated with the Office of the President to make money, for instance when he began illegally using a seal that looks almost identical to the presidential seal. More recently, it was revealed by journalist Olivia Nuzzi that Trump insists—contrary to both fact and proper post-presidency protocol—that his aides and advisers refer to him as “POTUS.”}
What remains true, despite the still-uncorrected reporting by the Times and Post, is that (a) the Trump NFT venture was indeed a scam; (b) numerous mysteries about this digital venture remain unanswered, but based on recent reporting the circumstances surrounding the “superhero”-themed Trump NFTs are only becoming more troubling (even to the point of destroying any value these NFTs may ever have had or aimed to have); (c) the House January 6 Committee has now confirmed in its final report that Trump and his agents repeatedly attempted to tamper with January 6 witnesses, and may yet be doing so as the focus of the federal January 6 investigation moves to the joint FBI and DOJ criminal probes of that horrible day; (d) Nicholas Luna was and remains a potentially critical January 6 witness who has cooperated with federal investigations into January 6 by agreeing to speak with (at a minimum) the House January 6 Committee; and (e) any and all Trump-led business ventures that appear to be fly-by-night operations coordinated by shell companies and/or single-use Trump-owned companies—especially those that are conducting their business primarily or even exclusively with dodgy third parties—must be investigated by the DOJ and FBI as possible witness tampering vehicles (in significant part because the House has now released compelling evidence that it is jobs and money that the former president and his accomplices—a class of persons, to be clear, that does not appear to include Mr. Luna—seem to be offering federal witnesses to sway their testimony, again with the amendment that this second class of persons also is not believed to include Mr. Luna).
Hopefully the Times and Post will update their coverage of Donald Trump’s NFT scam consistent with this new reporting by Proof.
{A general note to readers: As a media outlet focused on curatorial journalism, Proof does not seek to develop sources directly. However, it will work with sources when doing so can correct erroneous reporting by major-media sources Proof has relied upon in its curatorial journalism.}
I’m looking forward to the day Drumpf starts creating companies using the acronym PIC, Prisoner In Chief.
I continue to feel that our media & (more importantly) our government is in way over its head in combating Trump's style of illegal conduct, lies, & schemes. This seems like a huge important thing for them to look into, but I doubt anyone who has any power to, will. There's just too many crimes going on, by too many bad actors (many who are still IN the government) for this current FBI under the leadership of Wray to handle appropriately.
The DOJ needed to hire a ton of investigators & FBI agents way back in early 2021, should have had a special prosecutor started back then, & J6 & the Coup should have been seen as the BIGGEST deal in American history since the Civil War. We failed as a country based on the rule of law & continue fall short on so on many fronts. We needed to be as strong as were in the past when we faced great external peril & finally learn how to live the part of the oath about protecting the US constitution from "domestic" enemies.