Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president’s posts on US policy
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- Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept filed the lawsuit in New York's Southern District, naming Trump, deputy chief of staff Daniel Scavino, and executive assistant Natalie J. Harp as defendants.
- Truth API, Trump Media's subscription service launched earlier this month, charges Wall Street firms as much as $100,000 per month for six hours of exclusive early access to Trump's posts before wider distribution.
- Plaintiffs argue Trump's exclusive Truth Social deal violates First Amendment equal-access rights and Fifth Amendment prohibitions on unreasonable conditions for government benefits; Trump Media counters that fast API access is "common in its industry" and accuses plaintiffs of trying to "wrongfully weaponize the courts to censor" the president.
- Trump Media is publicly traded and losing hundreds of millions per quarter, with shares plunging from $62 to below $10 since its public debut two years ago.
- World Liberty Financial, Trump's crypto venture, received a $500 million investment from a UAE-linked company, and his annual financial disclosure showed more than $1 billion in crypto income last year from businesses his administration regulates.
Why it matters: The lawsuit puts a constitutional frame on a Trump Media product while the company bleeds cash — shares fell from $62 to under $10 since going public. With Trump reporting over $1 billion in crypto income last year from ventures his administration regulates, the case tests whether a sitting president can monetize priority access to official announcements.
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