Trump sued over Truth Social early-access service

Two media groups sued President Donald Trump over a Truth Social subscription service that charges up to $100,000 a month for faster access to his posts, alleging the arrangement gives paying clients privileged access to market-sensitive information generated by the president.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. It names Trump, two of his aides and the executive office of the president, according to The Guardian. The complaint calls the service “extraordinary, corrupt and unconstitutional” and asks the court to declare it unlawful.

The service, called Truth API, was launched by Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social. It provides paying subscribers with automated delivery of posts from Trump and other high-profile accounts milliseconds before those posts reach the general public through ordinary feeds. The Guardian reported that the feed includes posts from 10 prominent accounts, including Vice President JD Vance, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other senior officials.

Subscribers pay $100,000 a month, or $60,000 a month under a three-year commitment, The Guardian reported. Trump Media interim chief executive Kevin McGurn told investors Monday the company had signed up “more than 10” customers, mostly high-frequency securities trading firms, CBS News reported. He said the company is also in “active conversations” with large cloud computing firms, artificial intelligence companies and news organizations.

The plaintiffs argue that seconds or milliseconds can matter because Trump often uses Truth Social to announce developments that affect markets, including tariffs and foreign policy. “There is no legitimate interest, let alone a significant one, in permitting President Trump to profit from selling government information,” the lawsuit claims, according to CBS News.

David Bralow, chief legal officer at The Intercept, said: “Nothing could be more antithetical to the free, independent press than the president charging for early access to his public announcements.” Seth Stern, advocacy director at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said Trump selling priority access to news he generates, for the benefit of a private company he controls, is “so blatantly corrupt and unconstitutional that it would have been hard to even fathom just a few years ago.”

Trump Media rejected the allegations. “Information from President Trump is disseminated by countless platforms and news outlets, many of which offer subscription APIs,” a company spokesperson told CBS News and the BBC. “One of those channels is Truth Social, which was founded as an uncancellable haven for free speech after the President was unjustly de-platformed. Now, left-wing activists are trying to wrongfully weaponize the courts to censor him again and harm our shareholders.” The company also accused the Freedom of the Press Foundation of violating Truth Social’s terms of service, the BBC reported.

McGurn defended the product on Monday, saying customers receive “published and publicly available posts fractionally faster,” according to CBS News. He called ethical criticisms “misguided” and said the feed could become “a meaningful, ongoing source of revenue.”

Trump remains Trump Media’s largest shareholder, with about 41% of the company through a revocable trust, a stake worth roughly $1 billion. The plaintiffs say that means he could personally benefit from selling priority access to information he creates in office.

The lawsuit also raises concerns about preservation of public records. The Guardian reported that Truth API subscribers receive access to an archive of posts dating to 2022, including posts later deleted or altered. The plaintiffs are asking the court to bar the administration from relying on Truth Social as the exclusive venue for official announcements while preferential access is sold.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to CBS News and The Guardian.