Judge weighs Trump's up-to-$100K monthly fee for Truth Social API access
A federal judge will likely decide in the next few weeks whether Donald Trump can become the first president to personally profit from selling early access to government information in his social media posts, according to Ars Technica.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Department of Justice civil attorney Brantley Mayers argued that there was no conflict whatsoever with Trump charging up to $100,000 monthly for instant API access to Truth Social posts. Those posts often break news from his administration. Trump is the largest stakeholder and majority owner of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company that owns Truth Social, and the article says the value of the API access comes largely from Trump's role as president.
The news groups suing argue that the fees violate the First Amendment and the Presidential Records Act by creating tiers of access to government information in social media posts that Trump doesn't technically own. They also argue the fees undermine the Fifth Amendment, which they say prohibits the government from "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."
Mayers answered by likening Trump's Truth Social posts to Franklin D. Roosevelt's evening radio addresses, the "fireside chats," as Courthouse News reported. The posts, the article notes, have announced military strikes, ceasefires, tariffs, immigration policies and major changes in his administration. The DOJ argued that his personal feed acts as an unvarnished public service, not a greedy profit grab.
The article adds its own estimate: Trump could potentially make $1.2 million per subscriber annually by selling government information that, it says, is not his property. Before Mayers could proceed, US District Judge Paul Oetken "cut him off," per Courthouse News, and asked: "Well, President Roosevelt didn't charge money for his fireside chats, did he?"
Mayers replied that although Roosevelt didn't charge for his broadcasts, there were similar "barriers to entry" keeping every American from tuning in. Just as some news groups today can't afford to pay $60,000 to $100,000 for Truth's API, he argued, some Americans in the '30s and '40s couldn't afford radios. The account ends there, with no ruling yet.
Key facts
- DOJ civil attorney Brantley Mayers told US District Judge Paul Oetken there was no conflict with Trump charging up to $100,000 monthly for instant API access to Truth Social posts.
- News groups suing argue the fees violate the First Amendment and the Presidential Records Act, and also undermine the Fifth Amendment.
- Mayers compared the posts to Roosevelt's fireside chats; Oetken replied that Roosevelt didn't charge money for them.
- Mayers countered that radios were unaffordable for some Americans in the '30s and '40s, just as $60,000 to $100,000 for the API is for some news groups today.
- A ruling is likely in the next few weeks, per the article, on whether Trump can be the first president to personally profit from selling early access to government information in his posts.
Why it matters
The case tests whether a sitting president can personally profit from selling early access to posts that announce government action. The article says Trump's posts have announced military strikes, ceasefires, tariffs and immigration policies, and that the value of the paid API comes largely from his role as president. If the court accepts the news groups' arguments, paid tiers of access to such posts could run into the First Amendment, the Presidential Records Act and the Fifth Amendment. If it accepts the DOJ's, the arrangement stands. Ars Technica frames it as a first: no earlier president has done this.
Who it affects
News organizations are the direct parties: the groups suing say the tiers of access disadvantage them, and Mayers himself acknowledged that some can't afford $60,000 to $100,000 for the API. Trump and Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, stand to earn from the subscriptions; the article estimates up to $1.2 million per subscriber annually. Readers who follow government announcements through Trump's posts are affected indirectly, since the dispute is about who sees them first.
How to use it
This is a court story, not a product to adopt. The one practical detail is the price: Trump charges up to $100,000 monthly for instant API access to Truth Social posts. Anyone tracking the case should watch for Judge Oetken's decision, which the article expects in the next few weeks.
How solid is it
The account rests on a single Ars Technica article that relies in part on Courthouse News's reporting of the hearing. The quotes from Oetken and the descriptions of Mayers's arguments come through that reporting. The $1.2 million per subscriber figure is the article's own estimate, framed as what Trump "could potentially" make, and the text does not explain how it is calculated. The text does not name the court, the case or the plaintiff news groups. No ruling has been issued.
Risks and caveats
Nothing is decided: the judge's questions at a hearing are not a ruling, and the text does not say how Oetken responded to Mayers's radio-affordability argument. Trump's or Trump Media's own response to the lawsuit is not given. The article mixes reported arguments with its own characterisations, such as calling the information "not Trump's property"; that is the news groups' position and the article's framing, not a finding by the court.
“Well, President Roosevelt didn’t charge money for his fireside chats, did he?”
— US District Judge Paul Oetken, at the hearing, as reported by Ars Technica