Judge weighs whether Trump can charge up to $100,000 for early access to his Truth Social posts

A US federal judge is expected to decide within weeks whether President Donald Trump can become the first president to personally profit from selling early access to government information contained in his social media posts. A hearing took place on Wednesday. At issue is a fee of up to $100,000 a month for instant API access to posts on Truth Social. An API is a software interface that lets customers receive content automatically.

What the dispute is about

Trump is the largest stakeholder and majority owner of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social. The platform is often where his administration's decisions first become public, including military strikes, ceasefires, tariffs and immigration policy. According to the source, the value of the API access comes largely from Trump's role as president.

The lawsuit was brought by news organizations. They argue the fees violate the First Amendment and the Presidential Records Act by creating tiers of access to government information that Trump does not technically own. They also cite the Fifth Amendment, which they say bars the government from charging unreasonable sums that cannot be justified by the cost of a benefit, and from granting preferential access for arbitrary reasons.

The Justice Department's position

Brantley Mayers, a civil attorney for the US Department of Justice, told the court there was no conflict of interest. He compared Trump's posts to Franklin D. Roosevelt's evening radio addresses, known as "fireside chats," and said the personal feed works as an unvarnished public service rather than a profit grab. The source notes Trump could potentially earn $1.2 million a year per subscriber.

US District Judge Paul Oetken interrupted Mayers to ask whether Roosevelt charged money for his chats. Mayers replied that he did not, but said there were similar barriers to entry then: some Americans in the 1930s and 1940s could not afford radios, just as some news groups today cannot pay $60,000 to $100,000 for the API. Courthouse News reported on the hearing.