Donald Trump has been hit with a federal lawsuit alleging that Truth Social’s new paid service, Truth API, gives subscribers early access to White House communications and potentially market-moving information.
The case was filed in New York by The Intercept Media and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. It names Trump, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, presidential executive assistant Natalie Harp, the Executive Office of the President and the White House Office as defendants.
The plaintiffs argue that Truth API gives paying customers privileged access to information originating from the White House and creates an unconstitutional system favouring wealthy traders.
Subscribers reportedly receive advance access to a direct data feed of Truth Social posts, including content from Trump and other high-profile accounts. The service charges between $60,000 and $100,000 per month.
“President Donald Trump is charging $100,000 per month for advance access to his official government announcements on Truth Social,” the lawsuit states. “This scheme is extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional.”
Truth API is marketed around real-time market information
Truth API launched earlier this month and has reportedly attracted around 10 paying customers. Trump Media & Technology Group has promoted the service to traders and investors seeking faster access to content that can affect financial and prediction markets.
Kevin McGurn, interim chief executive of Trump Media, previously described the commercial opportunity directly. “Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” McGurn said when the product was unveiled. He also remains Trump Media’s largest shareholder, holding a 41 per cent stake placed into a trust overseen by Donald Trump Jr.
The lawsuit argues that this ownership interest creates a financial concern because Trump regularly uses Truth Social to announce policy decisions, regulatory actions and geopolitical developments.
If subscribers receive those posts before the wider public, the plaintiffs argue they may gain a trading advantage in markets sensitive to government action.
Constitutional challenge focuses on equal access to government information
Furthermore, the complaint argues that the programme violates the First and Fifth Amendments by allowing official government information to reach paying customers before everyone else.
The plaintiffs contend that government announcements should be equally available to the public and that there is no legitimate public interest in allowing a sitting president to profit from their distribution.
“This scheme is profoundly corrupt,” the complaint states. “The President stands to gain financially by giving ‘market-moving’ government information to those who are willing and able to pay his personal company.”
Court filings point to Trump’s use of Truth Social since returning to office. He has reportedly made between 9,000 and 11,000 posts or reposts since 2024. The plaintiffs say some policy announcements appear on Truth Social before being distributed through traditional White House channels.
They also cite comments from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt describing Trump’s posts as official statements of administration policy.
Lawsuit adds pressure as Trump Media explores prediction markets
This case arrives while Trump Media explores financial and market-related products around Truth Social. The company previously announced plans to integrate prediction markets through a partnership with Crypto.com before scaling back those plans.
In May, Trump publicly defended the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s authority over prediction markets. Posting on Truth Social, he said it was “critically important” that the CFTC retain “exclusive authority” over the sector and argued that prediction markets should be protected as part of the US financial system.
The lawsuit adds another layer to debate around the commercial use of presidential communications when those communications can influence financial prices, prediction contracts and investor behaviour. The case reaches beyond Truth Social’s commercial model alone.
The court must now consider whether Truth API is simply a commercial data product or whether it creates paid preferential access to official government information in conflict with constitutional protections.
The Truth API case raises a serious question about where commercial data services end and privileged access to public information begins. If presidential communications can move financial or prediction markets, selling faster access to them creates a governance problem that goes beyond ordinary platform monetisation.
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