Trump sued over plan to sell paid Truth Social API access for up to $100K a month
News outlet The Intercept has sued President Trump and several administration officials over a scheme to sell fast-track access to Truth Social posts, arguing he is improperly profiting from government information he shares only on his platform. The lawsuit names Trump, two aides, and two White House offices as defendants.
The Intercept has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, accusing him of privatizing government information for personal profit through a paid data feed called Truth API, sold by Trump Media & Technology Group.
According to the complaint, subscribers pay between $60,000 and $100,000 a month for expedited access to posts on Truth Social. The suit argues this is improper because Trump routinely uses the platform as the exclusive channel for official government announcements, including military strikes and ceasefires, the hiring and firing of agency heads, and major domestic policy decisions.
Ben Muessig, The Intercept's editor-in-chief, said Trump is trying to enrich himself by privatizing government information he has no right to sell, and vowed the outlet would not let it stand. The lawsuit also points out that Trump frequently uses his Truth Social account to criticize journalists and announce plans to sue or investigate them, meaning reporters would effectively have to pay to learn about threats against themselves ahead of the general public.
Besides Trump, the lawsuit names presidential aide Natalie Harp and Deputy Chief of Staff Daniel Scavino as defendants, since both have access to Trump's account and post on his behalf. The Executive Office of the President and the White House Office are also named as defendants.
Company finances
Trump Media & Technology Group reported $1.7 million in revenue for the second quarter, alongside a net loss of $238.1 million, largely driven by $190.4 million in non-cash losses tied to digital assets and equity securities. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said on an earnings call that Truth API has already signed up more than ten paying customers, mostly high-frequency trading firms, and that the company is in talks with cloud computing providers, major news organizations, and developers of large language models, with plans to eventually open the service to retail investors as well.
