Lawsuit Challenges Trump Media’s Plan to Sell Early Access to Presidential Posts

The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York alleging that Trump Media & Technology Group’s “Truth API” – a scheme to charge $60,000-$100,000 per month for early access to President Donald Trump’s official statements – violates the First Amendment right of journalists and the public to equal access to government information and breaches the Fifth Amendment by imposing “unreasonable sums” for that access. The lawsuit also names Trump’s executive assistant Natalie Harp, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Daniel Scavino, the Executive Office of the President, and the White House Office as defendants.

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Truth Social was created after Trump was banned from X and other platforms following the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The platform launched in 2022 and went public in 2024 via a SPAC merger. Trump holds the largest single stake in the company, originally 52.1 % and valued at $4 billion when he retook the White House in January 2025. According to the complaint, the stock has since collapsed, leaving Trump’s stake worth roughly $1 billion. An earnings call on a Monday (referenced in the complaint) disclosed second-quarter losses of $238 million.

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Nikhel Sus, chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, framed the suit as a defense of the principle that the president cannot profit from official statements. Kevin McGurn, interim CEO of Trump Media, described Truth API in a July 16 press release as a “direct, licensed, real-time feed” intended to generate a “high-margin, recurring revenue stream” for shareholders. The defendants have not responded to requests for comment.

The Intercept

Molly White, a researcher who tracks Trump’s crypto ventures, called the scheme “unprecedented” in presidential self-enrichment.

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• “Trump is trying to enrich himself by privatizing government information that he has no right to sell,” — Ben Muessig, editor-in-chief of The Intercept

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• “This lawsuit seeks to vindicate the principle that the president of the United States cannot profit from the official government statements of the president,” — Nikhel Sus, Chief Counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

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• “Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths while advancing our strategy to monetize proprietary assets through a high-margin, recurring revenue stream,” — Kevin McGurn, company’s interim CEO

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• “If you look back through the American presidency, there’s really no comparison for this kind of self-enrichment,” — Molly White, a researcher

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