A Russian businessman tied to the former CEO of the entity that merged with Donald Trump's Truth Social urged a Florida state court judge to reconsider an order compelling him to produce records in a lawsuit over taking the company public, saying it violates his Fifth Amendment rights.

In a motion filed Friday in Sarasota County, Florida, state court, Anton Postolnikov urged Judge Hunter W. Carroll to reconsider an order compelling him to comply with a subpoena request to produce documents and communications related to Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., its investors and Patrick Orlando, the former CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company that merged with Trump's company to take it public.

Postolnikov, who has not been charged with a crime, stated in his motion that the ruling conflicts with his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination that he invoked in a federal criminal investigation over insider trading, and that Judge Carroll should stay the order because he intends to file a petition for review by a state appellate court.

"As discussed at length in his Opposition to the Motion to Compel, the DOJ is conducting a criminal investigation of potential insider trading in the shares of DWAC, and that investigation has already led to the convictions of three other individuals," Postolnikov's motion stated. "Mr. Postolnikov himself has received a Grand Jury subpoena and SEC subpoena, as to which he successfully asserted his Fifth Amendment rights. To the extent those rights are now overcome by the plaintiffs in this civil litigation, any materials produced would be reachable by criminal investigators through issuance of a Grand Jury subpoena."

TMTG brought the Sarasota County lawsuit in February 2024, alleging Orlando and his company, Arc Global Investments II LLC, threatened to block the merger as a way to enrich themselves at the eleventh hour. TMTG says Orlando's actions resulted in lengthy delays in the merger process and imposed massive costs. The lawsuit lists defendants that include investors Adam Litinsky, Wesley Moss and United Atlantic Ventures LLC.

On Wednesday, Judge Carroll granted TMTG's motion to compel Postolnikov to produce all documents and communications regarding Orlando, Moss, Litinsky, DWAC, UAV and others. In addition, the judge ordered Postolnikov to produce "letters of intent, memorandums of understanding, and any other agreements or contracts between or among" several entities, including DWAC, Arc II and UAV.

In December 2023, an FBI affidavit for a search warrant application filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island listed Postolnikov as a Russian citizen living in Miami who knows Orlando and was an investor in DWAC. The affidavit added that Postolnikov liquidated most of his DWAC holdings in October 2021 and received more than a $22 million profit.

The affidavit was filed in the criminal case of Bruce Garelick, a Florida securities trader who received a 28-month sentence in November 2024 after a New York federal jury convicted him of illegally profiting from his stake in DWAC and tipping off others in connection to a Trump Media insider trading scheme.

Jonathan Bach, Garelick's lawyer, blamed Marc Wachter, an insurance salesman who had testified in the trial under an immunity agreement, for providing tips on the pending plans to take Truth Social public. Bach said Postolnikov was among those Wachter tipped off.

TMTG owns Truth Social, Trump's media concern, and while the president's name came up frequently at Garelick's trial, Trump has no significant ties to the case.

In his motion, Postolnikov said he received subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a grand jury, but successfully asserted his Fifth Amendment rights. Any materials he would be required to produce as a result of Judge Carroll's order could be acquired by criminal investigators.

"Indeed, without a stay of the Order, Mr. Postolnikov faces an impossible choice between losing his Fifth Amendment rights and risking civil contempt for failure to comply with the Court's Order," Postolnikov said.

Prior to Judge Carroll's ruling, TMTG opposed Postolnikov's objections, saying in a Sept. 5 filing he gave boilerplate responses to the subpoena and that the court should compel him to provide specific answers.

During a meeting between the parties, TMTG stated in the filing that Postolnikov's counsel took the extraordinary position that merely sifting through documents "would itself constitute a testimonial act implicating Postolnikov's Fifth Amendment rights."

"Postolnikov's wholesale assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege is both procedurally and substantively improper and should be rejected," TMTG said. "Instead, the privilege must be asserted with specificity, demonstrating a 'real and substantial hazard of self-incrimination' for each individual request."

A hearing for Postolnikov's motion to reconsider or stay is scheduled for Oct. 1 before Judge Carroll in Sarasota.

Counsel representing the parties did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Monday.

Trump Media is represented by Christopher G. Oprison, Tal Aburos, Caryn G. Schechtman, Eric Forni, Ronald N. Brown III, Josh Halpern, Whitney C. Cloud, Charles J. Hamilton and Steven M. Rosato of DLA Piper, Steven D. Hutton, Przemyslaw L. Dominko and Tyler B. Stall of Hutton Dominko & Stall PLLC and Samuel J. Salario Jr., Jason B. Gonzalez and Mathew D. Gutierrez of Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC.

Postolnikov is represented by Douglas R. Jensen of Sher Tremonte LLP and Mark R. Zimmerman of Zimmerman and Zimmerman.

ARC Global Investments II is represented by Morgan R. Bentley of Bentley Goodrich Kison, Christopher King, Andrew Vitali III and Kevin P. Jacobs of Homer Bonner Jacobs Ortiz.

Orlando is represented by Adam L. Schwartz, Jeanah Park and Andrew T. Figueroa of Vedder Price PC.

United Atlantic Ventures, Wesley Moss and Andrew Litinsky are represented by Benjamin A. Butzin-Dozier and Christopher J. Clark of Clark Smith Villazor LLP and Todd R. Legon and William F. Rhodes of Legon Fodiman & Sudduth PA.

The case is Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. et al. v. ARC Global Investments II LLC et al., case number 2024 CA 001061, in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Florida.