Nearly 18 months ago, an obscure investment banker unveiled a blockbuster deal: His so-called blank-check company would bankroll a social media outfit that former President Donald J. Trump planned to start with hundreds of millions of dollars.Today, the social media platform Truth Social has millions of users, including the former president. But the company that was supposed to bankroll it has been swarmed by federal investigators. In late March, the deal’s architect, Patrick Orlando, was ousted as chief executive of Digital World Acquisition Corp.Officials at Digital World hoped that Mr. Orlando’s departure would pacify federal authorities and lead to the approval of the merger with Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, according to three people briefed on the matter.That deal has been waylaid by two intensifying federal investigations. One is focused on whether preliminary merger discussions between Digital World and Trump Media violated federal securities laws. The other i …
