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It seems that the rampant speculation yesterday about the Manhattan grand jury's next steps did not pan out. Now, as Trump faces a high-profile indictment and the specter of arrest, Digital World (NASDAQ:DWAC) shares are paradoxically on a firmer footing.

Politico reported yesterday that the Manhattan grand jury was slated to hear evidence against Trump in April following a "previously scheduled hiatus." However, this report has turned out to be false.

To wit, as per the New York Times, the grand jury has now voted to indict Trump for alleged violations of campaign financing laws. Since the felony indictment has been filed under seal, we do not yet know the exact charges that have been leveled against Trump.

As a refresher, the Manhattan District Attorney formed a grand jury in January 2023 following his investigation of Trump for allegedly paying $130,000 in hush money to the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. This payment was reportedly routed via Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen. The payment was intended to purchase Daniels' silence vis-à-vis a sexual altercation with Trump back in 2006 during a celebrity golf tournament. Bear in mind that Cohen publicly admitted his role in this saga back in 2018. For his part, Trump continues to deny any knowledge of the transaction. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani, another longtime Trump associate, has already accepted that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the hush money sent to Daniels. However, the former US President continues to maintain that the payment in question was not, in fact, a reimbursement but a monthly retainer. Cohen was jailed in 2018 on two counts, including violations of campaign finance law.

Meanwhile, as Trump faces the daunting prospects of surrender and arrest, Digital World shares appear to be gaining ground, currently up around 10 percent in after-hours trading. Bear in mind that the SPAC Digital World is slated to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG). This merger will furnish Trump's media enterprise with hundreds of millions of dollars and bolster Truth Social, a Twitter-like social media platform that is essentially Trump's echo chamber. However, this planned merger has been complicated by an ever-growing number of federal investigations related to violations of securities law and money laundering.

Of course, one possible reason behind Digital World's vexing rise today might relate to how today's indictment has eliminated uncertainty, essentially removing Trump's response from the speculative realm to one based on hardcore pragmatism. Now, as the former US President is poised to unleash hell and fury on his opponents, the SPAC's investors might be discounting the attendant rise in his popularity.