Suit alleges subscription offer aims to sell privileged access to information generated in president\u2019s official capacity<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has been sued after a subscription service charging up to $100,000 a month for early access to his posts on his Truth Social platform sparked allegations of corruption.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for the southern district of New York, was brought by the Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation against Trump, two of his aides and the executive office of the president.<\/p>\n
It targets \u201cTruth API\u201d, a paid data feed launched on 1 August by the Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social. The complaint calls the arrangement \u201cextraordinary, corrupt and unconstitutional\u201d.<\/p>\n
The White House and Trump Media did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Trump has a history of using Truth Social to disclose market-sensitive news, including posts on tariffs and the war on Iran, which have triggered swings in stock and oil prices. Trump Media\u2019s interim chief executive, Kevin McGurn, has even promoted the service as a way to give businesses fast access to the platform\u2019s \u201cmost market-moving\u201d posts. He has described it as a \u201chigh-margin\u201d product meant to provide a \u201cmeaningful, ongoing source of revenue\u201d.<\/p>\n
The launch followed criticism from the Democratic senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren, who had urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether the service amounted to market manipulation benefiting insiders at ordinary investors\u2019 expense.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs argue that the president, who remains Trump Media\u2019s largest shareholder, with a stake worth roughly $1bn, stands to personally profit from selling privileged access to information generated in his official capacity.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the arrangement unlawful and to bar the administration from relying on Truth Social as the exclusive venue for official announcements while it sells preferential access to that information.<\/p>\n