The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have sued President Donald Trump over a Trump Media service that sells paid early access to his Truth Social posts, arguing that a sitting president should not be allowed to put a price on his own official words.
The service, called Truth API, gives paying subscribers a faster feed of the president’s posts. Trump Media’s interim chief executive, Kevin McGurn, unveiled it in July, and TNW previously reported that the company had pitched traders a $100,000 feed of the president’s Truth Social output.
Access reportedly runs from about $60,000 to $100,000 a month, positioning the president’s musings as a premium data product for hedge funds and traders keen to react to a market-moving post before everyone else does.
The lawsuit was filed on 12 August in the Southern District of New York, one of the busiest courts in the country for high-profile commercial disputes. It names Trump, aides Natalie Harp and Daniel Scavino, and the relevant executive offices, and it asks the court to unwind the arrangement.
The plaintiffs’ central claim is a constitutional one. They argue that the First Amendment guarantees equal public access to official government information, and that charging for a faster line to the president’s statements unconstitutionally privileges those who can afford it.
