Parler ‘offered Trump ownership stake while he was in office’

Before he was removed from office and social media, Donald Trump’s private business had reportedly negotiated a deal with Parler, the social media platform popular among right-wing users and used by many during the Capitol riots last month.

The deal — which never fully materialised — offered the former president a 40 per cent stake in the company in exchange for his exclusive use of the platform, BuzzFeed News has reported.

Ethics experts have since raised concerns over the conversations, saying they may have violated anti-bribery laws as Mr Trump was still in the Oval Office when they occurred, according to the report. It remained unclear how involved the former president may have been in those discussions, which were reportedly organised by his former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, as well as a lawyer for the campaign, Alex Cannon.