MrBeast TikTok Bid Overseen by Brother of Trump’s AG Pick
Lawyer Brad Bondi, brother of Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, to oversee bid, investor says
Tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley says MrBeast is vying to become one of the American owners of TikTok in a bid structured by attorney Brad Bondi. President Donald Trump nominated Bondi’s sister, Pam Bondi, for Attorney General in November after his previous choice, Matt Gaetz, failed to secure the necessary votes for Senate confirmation.
The Attorney General would be responsible for enforcing any ban on TikTok should it fail to find an American buyer. Trump has issued an executive order “instructing the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today,” the order states.
Trump has emerged as an unlikely advocate to “save TikTok,” in his words, after first calling for its ban in 2020 over national security concerns about its Chinese ownership. Brad Bondi was also reportedly among the names considered by Trump to head the Security and Exchange Commission. Both Axios and Barrons reported that Brad Bondi also worked on the public offering for Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, Trump’s social network site.
“We've assembled an incredible team of investors led by me including @MrBeast @Employerdotcom among many of the great institutions and families in the United States and have officially submitted a compelling all-cash offer to ByteDance to keep TikTok in the U.S.” Tinsley wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Monday. “This is about more than just a platform it’s about ensuring TikTok remains a safe space where freedom of speech thrives and where creators and communities can connect, inspire, and share ideas safely and respecting data privacy…Our legal team from Paul Hastings (Brad Bondi and team) and Legal Scale (Neil O’Donnell and team) are ready to structure the deal in whatever way President Trump and our government wish.”
Asked about Tinsley’s statement and Brad Bondi’s role in the deal, Bondi’s law firm, Paul Hastings, did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Brad Bondi has also long represented Elon Musk against allegations leveled at his companies by the SEC, according to The Lever. Brad Bondi represented Musk and Tesla during the company’s 2018 suit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over tweets by Musk that the SEC alleged misled shareholders, boosting Tesla’s stock price.
“If confirmed,” The Lever wrote, “Pam Bondi could shut down a Justice Department probe of Musk’s company, which was represented by her brother.”