Trump Sued Over Sale Of Faster Access To Truth Social Posts

Two media groups filed suit against Donald Trump over a new offering in which subscribers can pay up to $100,000 a month for quicker access to his announcements on Truth Social.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Wednesday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept Media claim that the “scheme is profoundly corrupt.”

“The President stands to gain financially by giving ‘market-moving’ government information to those who are willing and able to pay his personal company,” the lawsuit stated.

They also contend that the service violates the First Amendment, noting that it “guarantees equal access to the President’s public announcements, and even content-neutral burdens on that access must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest. There is no legitimate interest, let alone a significant one, in permitting President Trump to profit from selling government information.”

The lawsuit also claims violation of the Fifth Amendment, arguing that it prohibits “charging unreasonable sums that cannot be justified to offset the cost of the government benefit.”

The service is called Trump API, billed as offering the fastest access to the highest-ranking accounts on Truth Social, potentially giving an advantage to traders for the market-moving information.It was pitched as a business-to-business offering for institutional customers.

The Intercept argued that the service forces it to make an “unconstitutional choice: either subsidize and associate with the President’s private company, harming The Intercept’s finances, reputation, and legal security, or risk losing out on timely news to competing organizations, similarly harming its reputation and revenue.”

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt the posting of exclusive government information on Truth Social, as well as a declaration that it is unconstitutional.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are two of the president’s top aides, Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, has viewed Truth API as a long-term recurring revenue stream. TMTG this week reported a $238 million net loss in the most recent quarter, on revenue of $1.7 million.

A TMTG spokesperson said, “Information from President Trump is disseminated by countless platforms and news outlets, many of which offer subscription APIs. One of those channels is Truth Social, which was founded as an uncancellable haven for free speech after the President was unjustly deplatformed. Now, left-wing activists are trying to wrongfully weaponize the courts to censor him again and harm our shareholders.”

In an earnings call, TMTG Interim CEO Kevin McGurn told investors that they have signed more than 10 customer agreements to date, primarily to high-frequency trading firms at rates ranging from $60,000- $100,000 per month.