On Wednesday, a federal lawsuit was initiated against the Trump administration, alleging a breach of the First Amendment. The suit claims the administration is selling exclusive early access to posts on Truth Social, prior to them becoming publicly available.
Described in the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, this transaction is labeled as “profoundly corrupt.” It argues that the President could potentially profit by disclosing market-sensitive government information to those prepared to pay his private company.
The complaint further argues that “The First Amendment guarantees equal access to the President’s public announcements, and even content-neutral burdens on that access must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest.” It stresses there is no valid, let alone imperative, reason to allow President Trump to benefit monetarily from public presidential information.
The lawsuit has been filed by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept, a nonprofit digital news outlet. They are being represented by a legal coalition comprising CREW, Yale Law School, the Public Integrity Project, and Altshuler Berzon LLC.
Last month, Truth Social’s parent company introduced a new feature, Truth API, offering early access to posts from the president and other officials for a fee of up to $100,000 monthly. Reports indicate that at least 10 customers have signed up for this service.
At the same time, the Trump Justice Department has repeatedly argued
The president owns a 41% stake in Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media
“This appears to be an outrageous abuse of the President’s office for his personal benefit that undermines everyday investors and the integrity of our markets, while enriching Wall Street and other wealthy insiders,” they wrote.