Court should immediately block $100,000-per-month subscription for early access to Trump’s Truth Social posts

The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation moved in federal court to preliminarily enjoin President Trump from providing early access to his social media posts to those willing to pay his social media platform, Truth Social, $100,000 per month.

Since returning to office, Trump has used his Truth Social account as his primary means of communicating with the public and making official announcements. Last month, the CEO of Truth Social’s parent company announced Truth API, a service that would provide investors early access to “market-moving” messages from the president and other officials on the platform for up to $100,000 per month. Truth API launched on August 1 and has already reportedly signed up more than 10 customers.

In response to this illegal scheme, The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against President Trump and other White House officials on August 12. As plaintiffs explained, the president’s scheme violates the Constitution’s First and Fifth Amendments by giving unequal access to official government information to those who pay his private company. There is absolutely no government interest, let alone a significantcompelling one as required by the First Amendment, in letting the president profit by selling government information. 

Plaintiffs’ motion today would immediately prevent the president and the other defendants in this case, including White House aides Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino, from posting on Truth Social so long as the president can profit from selling early access to government information. The plaintiffs are represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, The Public Integrity Project and Altshuler Berzon LLP.

“Trump doesn’t get to charge people for his own public statements. The First Amendment doesn’t have a paywall, and we’re not going to let him build one,” said Annie Chabel, CEO of The Intercept. “Journalists and the public shouldn’t have to pay the president for news he’s constitutionally obligated to share with everyone.”

“The Trump administration is trying to keep government records hidden from the public, including by ignoring FOIA and the Presidential Records Act,” said Seth Stern, Chief of Advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation. “In the meantime, Trump is using his official statements on Truth Social as profiteering opportunities, charging seven figures per year for premium access. It’s a corrupt assault on the constitution that harms members of the press and public who don’t line the president’s pockets. That’s why we’re suing to stop it.” 

The lawsuit also notes that Truth API is a money-making opportunity for Trump, with Trump owning the largest stake in Trump Media through The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, with shares collectively worth more than $1 billion. He is the sole beneficiary of the trust. 

“President Trump cannot be allowed to continue to violate the First and Fifth Amendments for the sake of his personal profit,” said the legal team representing the plaintiffs. “The idea that the president’s public statements would be available to paying customers more quickly than the American public is antithetical to democracy and the free press. We’re proud to represent our clients as they stand up for their constitutional rights and to end this corrupt scheme.”