MFIA Clinic Represents Plaintiffs in Lawsuit Against Truth API
President Donald Trump’s plan to charge $100,000 per month for advance access to official government announcements on Truth Social violates the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed on Aug. 12 in federal court by The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation. The plaintiffs are represented by Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, The Public Integrity Project, and Altshuler Berzon LLP.
In 2021, Trump launched Trump Media & Technology Group. Trump Media subsequently released Truth Social, a social media platform, in 2022. Since returning to office, Trump has used his Truth Social account as his primary means of communicating with the public and making official announcements, encompassing everything from agency appointments and firings to military actions and foreign policy. 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. At the same time, its CEO announced that the company would take steps to stop users from systematically gathering posts from the platform. Truth API launched on Aug. 1 and has already signed up 10 customers.
Granting preferential access to Trump’s public statements to paid subscribers violates the First Amendment, which guarantees Americans equal access to the president’s public announcements. The Fifth Amendment prohibits the government from imposing extortionate or unreasonable conditions on the availability of government benefits.
“American democracy cannot exist without a free press and an informed public,” said Yale Law School Clinical Lecturer in Law Stacy Livingston. “Since his first term, President Trump has sought to undermine basic constitutional rights that protect those preconditions for democratic governance, and Truth API marks his most self-serving attempt to date. We are bringing this suit to ensure it won’t succeed.”
“A president selling priority access to news he himself generates for the benefit of a private company he controls is so blatantly corrupt and unconstitutional that it would have been hard to even fathom just a few years ago,” said Freedom of the Press Foundation Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern. “This brazen grift targets not only the markets but the First Amendment. It cannot stand.”
“Nothing could be more antithetical to the free, independent press than the president charging for early access to his public announcements,” said The Intercept’s Chief Legal Officer and Yale Law School Visiting Lecturer in Law David Bralow. “Through this litigation, The Intercept and its journalists are proud to hold the line on a fundamental proposition: public information belongs to the public.”
Beyond the constitutional violations inherent in Truth API, the scheme is also a money making opportunity for Trump, the plaintiffs explain. Trump owns the largest stake in Trump Media through the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which holds approximately 41.43% of Trump Media’s shares, which are collectively worth more than $1 billion. He is the sole beneficiary of the trust.
“President Trump trampling on the Constitution for the sake of his personal profiteering is nothing new, but this latest scheme is obscene,” said CREW Chief Counsel Nikhel Sus. “All Americans are entitled to timely access to their president’s public statements, not just those willing to pay the president’s company $100,000 a month. We are proud to represent our clients in their effort to end this corrupt and unconstitutional scheme.”
“President Trump’s attempt to monetize his public statements is about as blatant as a constitutional violation can get,” said Public Integrity Project CEO Brendan Ballou. “The president’s public statements are for the public, not a wealthy few. Our democracy depends on upholding the Constitution and enjoining Trump’s corrupt scheme.”
“The First Amendment is not up for debate, and the president cannot sweep it to the side,” said BJ Chisholm, managing partner, Altshuler Berzon LLP.
The MFIA Clinic at Yale Law School is dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression through impact litigation, direct legal services, and policy work.
