Overstock Stock: Shares Fall After CEO's 'Deep State' Conspiracy Theory Comments

Shares of Overstock Inc. (OSTK) fell for a third consecutive day, plunging 22.4% on Wednesday after CEO Patrick Byrne on Monday told a little-known conservative website that he was involved in "deep state" federal investigations related to the Clintons and Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Byrne said that he helped federal investigators, whom he calls the "Men in Black," on three separate occasions. Shares have fallen 36% since Monday, with the company shedding $317 million in market value.

"I will speak no more on the subject," Byrne said in a statement published on conservative website SaraACarter.com. "Instead having lived in places lacking rule of law and having witnessed the consequences of its absence, I plan on helping the United States Department of Justice reestablish rule of law in this country."

Byrne said that he gave the Department of Justice documents pertaining to alleged FBI investigations.

The "deep state" theory is often promoted by conservative pundits such as Fox News's Sean Hannity and alleges that parts of the federal bureaucracy hostile to President Donald Trump are trying to interfere in his presidency.

Trump himself has also engaged with parts of the theory, claiming that the FBI under President Obama spied on him during the 2016 elections, although the FBI has said that there is no evidence to support the claim.

This isn't the first time Byrne's comments have shocked the market. Shares of the company dropped briefly last week after he joked that he would loan some of Overstock's office space to the Securities and Exchange Commission as Overstock tries to get regulators to approve its cryptocurrency, tZero.

Byrne has also tried to sue some short sellers of Overstock stock such as Goldman Sachs, believing abusive practices are driving down the cost of its shares, with the suit being dismissed in 2012.

Overstock.com is a Utah-based internet retailer that was launched in 1999 under Byrne's leadership and went public in 2002. The company sells closeout merchandise such as home decorations and furniture.