Trump Media Sued For Selling Early Access to President’s Posts: ‘Corrupt and Unconstitutional’

Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo

Intercept Media and the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Association filed a joint complaint on Wednesday suing President Donald Trump’s social media platform for selling early access to his posts to Wall Street banks and others.

Trump Media, which owns Truth Social, raised eyebrows across the media and political world last month when it announced it would sell early access to his posts for an eye-popping price of up to $100,000 per month, a move the lawsuit called “extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional.”

“The President stands to gain financially by giving ‘market-moving’ government information to those who are willing and able to pay his personal company,” reads the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York.

“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,” argued the complaint, adding:

There is no legitimate interest, let alone a significant one, in permitting President Trump to profit from selling government
Information. Similarly, the Fifth Amendment prohibits charging unreasonable sums that cannot be justified to offset the cost of the government benefit, and granting preferential access to crucial government information for arbitrary and irrational reasons, as is the case here.

Trump Media launched the service, dubbed Truth API on August 1st, and has so far said that at least 10 companies have subscribed to the service. Trump’s posts on tariffs, tax policy, and the war in Iran have caused massive market swings and disruptions. Allegations of insider trading have also been widespread as Trump insiders and GOP leaders have appeared to profit from Trump’s announcement shifting the market.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!