The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation have sued President Donald Trump over a Truth Social service charging up to $100,000 monthly for faster access to posts that may move U.S. financial markets.
Summary
- Truth API subscriptions reportedly cost $60,000 to $100,000 per month.
- More than 10 customers, mainly high-frequency trading firms, have signed agreements.
- The lawsuit alleges violations of the First and Fifth Amendments.
- Trump’s revocable trust holds about 41% of Trump Media, a Nasdaq-listed company.
Truth Social lawsuit targets preferential access
The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation filed the complaint Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to an Associated Press report. The case names Trump, Trump Media & Technology Group, and White House aides Daniel Scavino and Natalie Harp among the defendants.
Seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, the plaintiffs want the court to stop the administration from giving paying Truth API customers preferential access to presidential posts containing official U.S. policy announcements. The complaint also challenges what the plaintiffs describe as an exclusive arrangement under which Trump uses Truth Social to release government information.
Trump Media introduced Truth API in July and opened it to institutional customers on Aug. 1. As crypto.news previously reported, the company markets the low-latency feed to algorithmic trading firms, financial data providers, and media companies that need machine-readable posts within milliseconds.
Interim CEO Kevin McGurn has said monthly contracts range from about $60,000 to $100,000. Trump Media disclosed in its latest earnings materials that it had signed more than 10 customer agreements and was already earning revenue from the product, although it has not identified the subscribers.
Most customers are high-frequency trading firms, according to reports cited in the lawsuit. Such companies use automated systems capable of reading information and placing trades faster than ordinary investors who depend on Truth Social’s website, mobile notifications, or reports from news organizations.
Trump Media has described Truth API as a licensed alternative to companies scraping data from social platforms. McGurn previously said, “Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” while presenting the service as a new source of recurring revenue for the company.
Plaintiffs say presidential statements are a public benefit
Under its First Amendment claim, the lawsuit argues that the president cannot give paying customers an advantage in accessing official announcements while journalists and members of the public receive the same information later. The plaintiffs allege that the arrangement interferes with the press’s ability to report government news on equal terms.
Trump routinely uses Truth Social to announce or discuss tariffs, appointments, foreign policy, and other federal decisions. According to the complaint, statements covering those subjects can affect stocks, currencies, commodities, and digital assets, making even a short delivery advantage valuable to automated trading firms.
The Fifth Amendment claim rests on a separate argument. The plaintiffs contend that the government cannot place an unreasonable financial condition on access to a public benefit, including official presidential information. No court has ruled on the merits of either constitutional claim, and the allegations remain unproven.
“Nothing could be more antithetical to the free, independent press than the president charging for early access to his public announcements,” The Intercept Chief Legal Officer David Bralow said.
Trump Media rejected the allegations in a statement reported by the Associated Press. The company compared its product with subscription data services offered across the media industry and accused the groups behind the case of trying to silence Trump and harm the company’s shareholders.
The $100,000 feed raises U.S. market questions
For American investors, the dispute concerns whether all market participants receive presidential information at the same time. Truth API’s customers can send posts directly into automated trading systems, while a retail investor may need to open the platform, read the statement, and place an order manually.
A faster data feed does not, by itself, establish insider trading under U.S. law. In its Aug. 2 coverage, crypto.news noted that federal insider-trading cases generally require evidence involving material nonpublic information and a breach of duty, while Truth Media maintains that the underlying posts remain publicly available.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff had already asked Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins to examine whether the product conflicts with federal securities law or damages market fairness. The SEC acknowledged receiving their letter but had not publicly announced an investigation, enforcement action or legal finding when Truth API launched.
Lawmakers focused partly on the timing of delivery. Their letter asked whether paying subscribers receive any information before regular Truth Social users and whether the president’s financial connection to the platform creates a conflict when official statements generate commercial revenue.
A separate case has shown why access to government information matters to U.S. trading regulators. In July, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began examining a White House teleprompter operator who allegedly earned more than $90,000 from Kalshi contracts tied to words Trump would use during speeches, according to earlier Kalshi coverage. Kalshi reportedly froze most of the gains after flagging the activity.
No regulator or court has found that Truth API customers traded on confidential information. The lawsuit instead asks whether the administration may route official communications through a president-linked company that sells faster delivery to firms equipped to act on them.
Trump Media ownership forms part of the complaint
Trump’s financial interest in Trump Media is another part of the plaintiffs’ case. Company disclosures show that the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust holds about 41% of Trump Media’s shares, while Trump serves as the trust’s settlor and sole beneficiary. Donald Trump Jr. is the trust’s sole trustee.
The holding has recently been valued at more than $1 billion, although its value changes with the price of Trump Media shares. Revenue from Truth API goes to the Nasdaq-listed company rather than directly to Trump, but the complaint argues that a successful paid feed could benefit a business in which his trust owns a large stake.
Trump Media’s financial position gives the service added importance. According to recent earnings coverage, the company recorded a $238.1 million second-quarter net loss and generated $1.67 million in revenue. Its quarterly results also included $190.4 million in unrealized losses across digital assets and securities.
Alongside Truth Social, the company operates Truth+ and Truth.Fi, and holds Bitcoin and Cronos on its balance sheet. Its reported Bitcoin holdings reached 14,139 BTC by July 31, while some coins were pledged against convertible notes or used in an options strategy.
None of Truth API’s revenue appeared in the second-quarter figures because the service began operating after June 30. Trump Media said in its earnings materials that signed customer agreements were producing revenue, but it did not disclose the amount earned or the duration of individual contracts.
The lawsuit asks the Manhattan federal court to declare the preferential arrangement unlawful and prevent Trump and White House staff from supplying paid customers with faster access to official announcements. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, the Public Integrity Project, and Altshuler Berzon LLP represent the plaintiffs.
