Trump Media’s Truth API, a paid feed giving Wall Street firms faster access to President Trump’s Truth Social posts, launched today at up to $100,000 a month. Rep. Jamie Raskin’s July 30 lett
Trump Media’s Truth API, a paid feed giving Wall Street firms faster access to President Trump’s Truth Social posts, launched today at up to $100,000 a month. Rep. Jamie Raskin’s July 30 letter to the company put a number on what’s at stake for Trump personally:
“nearly half of each fee would go directly into the pocket of Donald Trump,”
citing his roughly 41% stake in Trump Media. The launch went ahead exactly on schedule, despite three separate congressional attempts to slow it down and a silent SEC.
Three warnings, one deadline
Trump Media announced Truth API on July 16; interim CEO Kevin McGurn called it the company’s first product built for recurring revenue. On July 29, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff asked SEC Chair Paul Atkins to investigate before launch, pointing specifically to Truth Social posts they said had moved markets, including ones referencing Citigroup, Intel, and Palantir. Atkins’ office confirmed receiving the letter and declined to say more. Around the same time, Sen. Mark Warner wrote separately to six bank trade groups urging them not to buy the feed, and at least two large banks are reported to have no plans to buy it, per reporting we haven’t independently confirmed. On July 30, Raskin demanded records from Trump Media directly, giving the company until August 13. A Trump Media spokesperson said critics were mischaracterizing the product. None of it moved the launch date.
The stock moved anyway
DJT shares were trading around $9.78 today, up roughly 48% from a June low near $7, with the climb accelerating around the Truth API announcement.
The rally has been sharp enough to move Trump’s own net worth: Forbes estimated it added roughly $600 million to his holdings since the June low.
Not the first rodeo, but the first president
Regulators have unwound early-access data deals before: Thomson Reuters suspended selling high-frequency traders early economic data in 2013, and Business Wire cut off similar feeds in 2014, both under New York Attorney General pressure, not the SEC. The SEC has separately pursued its own version of this problem: in 2003 it settled for $10.3 million with a consultant who tipped a Goldman Sachs executive to nonpublic government policy information minutes before it became public. But no case, in either venue, has involved a sitting president’s own communications.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer made the same argument days after Trump Media’s initial announcement, framing the product as Trump personally profiting from advance notice of his own posts.
What’s next: an August 13 deadline, and a silent SEC
Trump Media has until August 13 to hand over records to the House Judiciary Committee. The SEC hasn’t said whether it’s opening a review. Truth API is live either way.
FAQ
What is Truth API? A paid data feed giving subscribers real-time access to Truth Social’s 10 most-followed accounts, including Trump’s own, priced $60,000–$100,000/month depending on contract length.
Is this illegal? Contested. Lawmakers cite Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5, the core anti-fraud provisions barring insider trading and market manipulation; Trump Media says the information is ultimately public. No SEC investigation has been confirmed.
What happens by August 13? Trump Media’s deadline to hand records to the House Judiciary Committee, a document request, not a subpoena.