San Francisco sues Trump Media over $100,000 monthly early access to Trump posts

September 22, 2026 at 10:43 PM2 min

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San Francisco sued Trump Media & Technology Group in California state court on Tuesday, alleging the company's Truth API service illegally sells early access to President Donald Trump's market-moving posts for $100,000 a month. The lawsuit claims the scheme violates California's Unfair Competition Law and federal insider trading rules. City Attorney David Chiu called it a 'pay-to-play scheme for early access to the president's market-moving government statements.'

Key Facts

San Francisco filed the lawsuit in California state court on Tuesday, alleging Truth API violates California's Unfair Competition Law and federal insider trading rules.
Trump Media charges select customers $100,000 per month for early access to the 10 most influential Truth Social accounts, including Trump's and other White House officials'.
On August 21, Trump posted that the federal government would exempt some ground beef imports from tariffs, and cattle futures declined significantly when the market opened hours later, according to the complaint.
Trump Media reported a net loss of more than $238 million earlier this year.
Truth Social has a six-hour exclusivity window on Trump's posts, meaning he cannot post the same material elsewhere during that time.

The Lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed in California state court, alleges that the Truth API feed is a 'corrupt business scheme' that violates California's Unfair Competition Law and federal ethics and anti-corruption laws prohibiting insider trading. The complaint states that 'Trump Media has unlawfully created, priced, marketed, and operated a commercial mechanism that knowingly and willfully facilitates Trump's use of nonpublic information for private profit.' San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said at a Tuesday press conference, 'It's a pay-to-play scheme for early access to the president's market-moving government statements.'

Truth API Service

Trump Media recently launched Truth API, a service that charges select customers $100,000 a month for early access to the 10 most influential accounts on Truth Social, including Trump's and those of other White House officials. Trump Media's interim CEO, Kevin McGurn, said in the announcement of Truth API that 'markets already move on Truth Social posts.' The San Francisco complaint cites reports of hedge fund executives who say they feel pressured to buy the service even though they think it is legally risky.

Market Impact

On August 21, Trump posted that the federal government was going to 'lower the price of ground beef for working families' by exempting some ground beef imports from tariffs. When the market opened a few hours later, cattle futures declined significantly, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that Truth API is a way of making the floundering Trump Media profitable; the company reported a net loss of more than $238 million earlier this year.