Politics 5 min read By Arthur Ellington
Former Federal Prosecutors Urge Court to Block Trump's $100,000 Truth Social Access Scheme
More than 50 former federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials have filed an amicus brief in the Southern District of New York supporting a preliminary injunction against Trump Media's plan to sell early access to Truth Social posts for $100,000 a month, arguing the arrangement may violate multiple federal criminal statutes.
More than 50 former federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials have asked a federal judge to block a plan by Trump Media & Technology Group to sell early access to Donald Trump's Truth Social posts for $100,000 a month, arguing the arrangement could breach several federal criminal statutes and the Securities Exchange Act.
The 53 former prosecutors and agents filed an amicus brief on Monday in the Southern District of New York in support of a preliminary injunction sought by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. The group includes officials who handled public corruption and integrity matters at the Justice Department, the FBI and US attorneys' offices across 11 presidential administrations, both Republican and Democratic, with more than 880 years of combined government service.
At issue is Truth API, a data licensing product launched by Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social. The company has pitched the service to financial institutions and trading firms as a way to receive posts from prominent accounts before they are broadly available. Reports estimate nearly a dozen firms have already signed up for the $100,000 monthly service.
The filing states that the subscription may violate criminal laws and the Securities Exchange Act, under which violators may be liable for unlawful insider tips. It also cites the Trade Secrets Act, illegal gratuity, conflict of interest and illicit compensation for federal employment as potential grounds for liability.
«There is no legitimate, let alone significant, government interest in allowing public officials to profit personally by selling early access to official government announcements,» the brief reads. «But Truth Social's new scheme to charge up to $100,000 per month for users to get early access to messages from the President and other officials on the platform seeks to do precisely that.»
Renata O'Donnell, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, which worked with Singleton Schreiber on the filing, said the arrangement is corrosive to democracy and the public interest. «We're in an environment where we all want to be looking to the founders, right? They came over because they were in a situation where they saw that a government all in the hands of one person was not a success—and they tried to insulate the president constitutionally and through a variety of other protections to make sure he could be independent,» she said.
The group has not filed a lawsuit and is not asserting that a crime has already been proven. Instead, the brief disputes the launch of the service on the grounds that it may be criminal. O'Donnell emphasised that subscribers could also face liability. «There is potential criminal liability for folks who have paid the $100,000,» she said, «and so that would extend to folks who have already paid the $100,000, and for future folks who might. And so, to shunt some of that future harm, it is in the public interest to shut this down sooner rather than later, as before more folks sign on.»
The filing argues that the financial relationship between Trump and Trump Media makes the arrangement different from an ordinary government communications system. Trump is a major beneficiary of the company and therefore benefits financially when the value of Truth Social rises.
The city of San Francisco has separately sued Trump Media, accusing the company of violating California's unfair competition law and federal insider trading rules. The city is also seeking to stop the service and impose penalties for violations.
Trump Media operates Truth Social alongside Truth+, its streaming service, and Truth.Fi, a financial services brand. Its SEC filings say Truth.Fi includes investment products and a digital-asset strategy, including a bitcoin treasury. The company has also launched a group of exchange-traded funds tied to themes such as American defence and energy security.
Trump's family has separately built a substantial cryptocurrency business through World Liberty Financial, a venture co-founded by Trump and his sons. His 2025 financial disclosure showed more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto-related ventures, including almost $800 million associated with World Liberty Financial and $635 million from Trump memecoin sales.
Trump Media and Technology Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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