A lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump targets a new social media platform called Truth Social that would enable users to see his posts more quickly than on other platforms, including those that could influence financial markets.
Trump was sued Wednesday by the Intercept and the nonprofit, Freedom of the Press Foundation, over the service’s “extraordinary, corrupt and unconstitutional” nature.
The groups say the Truth Social offering is unconstitutional because it takes the public’s access to statements from the president away from them. They also say it infringes on the Fifth Amendment right to be free from government preferentialism for those who are willing to pay “unreasonable sums.”
The lawsuit seeks to stop Trump from pushing out official government content exclusively on Truth Social, which sought to be a social media platform that could be accessed only on the app or website.
The suit requests a federal court in New York to bar Trump from posting government information only on Truth Social, which attempted to create a social media community through its app or website.
TRENDING NOW
Truth API Offers Faster Access to Trump Posts
The service, aptly named Truth API, costs up to $100,000 per month for quicker access to posts from Trump and other high-profile users on Truth Social.
The service has garnered attention due to the promise of the market-moving posts being available even a little bit earlier than the rest of the world. In high-frequency trading on Wall Street, even a few milliseconds could mean a few million dollars.
But critics of Trump have made it clear they are unhappy about the service, saying that it continues to raise questions about his private business endeavors versus his duties as president.
Brendan Ballou, head of the Public Integrity Project and representing the media outlets in the case, said that Trump is using the presidency to line his own pockets.
“The president here is using the power of the office to vastly enrich himself, and I think it’s unprecedented in American history,” Ballou said in an interview.
He added that Trump is “the Picasso of corruption,” arguing that the Truth Social service is an example of schemes that would not normally occur to most people.
Trump Aides Also Named in Lawsuit
Additionally, the lawsuit includes defendants Trump’s executive assistant Natalie Harp and deputy chief of staff at the White House Dan Scavino.
The suit alleges that both aides have access to Trump’s Truth Social account.
Executive Office of the President and White House Office are also the defendants.
Trump Media Defends Truth Social Service
A spokesperson for Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social, said that monetizing social media platform data is common among technology companies.
The company also said that Trump’s social media posts are widely distributed on the internet by other platforms and news sources.
According to Trump Media, Truth Social is a service that was started by the president as “an uncancellable haven for free speech.”
Truth Social Service Comes Amid Financial Losses
Trump Media is a company that’s already losing a ton of money, and the controversy over the Truth API service is just an additional complication.
Trump Media announced a $238 million loss for the second quarter on Monday, and its biggest expense was taken in cryptocurrencies.
During the conference call with investors, executives said that the business would be the “disciplined choice” to concentrate on the Truth Social business.
Over 10 customers have joined the quicker-access feed, the company revealed.
Those customers, said Trump Media officials, were “primarily high-frequency trading firms” but the company refused to name them.
Trump Remains Major Trump Media Shareholder
Trump’s financial disclosures made in June indicated he made at least $2 billion in takings last year.
While Trump Media is experiencing heavy financial losses, critics say it’s another sign that Trump is cashing in on the presidency.
Trump is the biggest stockholder in Trump Media, and his son, Donald Trump Jr., is the company’s CEO.
Trump Media has had dreams of more than just social media, as it had sought to merge with a nuclear fusion firm.
The deal has been on hold since the company’s earnings call on Monday, executives said.
In addition, executives stated that the firm was dropping its aims to enter the prediction market area with the launch of Truth Predict, President Trump’s plan to engage in prediction market activity.
In fact, executives have told investors that Crypto.com’s prediction market services will be encouraged to users of the social media platform through the platform Truth Social.
