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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →No judge has ruled yet on whether Trump can sell early access to his Truth Social posts. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken heard arguments on October 7, 2026, on a request to block the paid service while a lawsuit proceeds. The service, Truth API, has been reported at up to $100,000 per month.
Where the case stands
The case is The Intercept Media, Inc. v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-06867, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Intercept Media and the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued on August 12, 2026. Their motion for a preliminary injunction asks the court to block paid early access to official announcements while the litigation is pending. The court’s docket lists October 7 as the oral argument date on that motion.
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At the hearing, Judge Oetken questioned both sides but did not issue a decision from the bench. Ars Technica’s Ashley Belanger reported that he said he would issue a written ruling later and that a decision was expected in the coming weeks. As of October 9, 2026, no written order on the motion had been reported.
What Truth API is and what it costs
Truth API is the paid service at the center of the case. Trump Media & Technology Group launched it on August 1, 2026. Yale Law School’s Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic described it as a service that gives investors early access to “market-moving” posts from Trump and other officials. It is a data feed for software, not the public Truth Social feed.
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Delivery features
Reporting on the service describes near-instant or millisecond-level delivery, a machine-readable feed, and a historical archive. Those features are the basis of the plaintiffs’ argument that the product has value beyond a small timing advantage, discussed below.
Price and what “up to” means
Contemporary reports put the price at up to $100,000 per month. “Up to” is the key qualifier. It describes a reported maximum, not a verified charge that every customer pays. The table shows how the figures should be read.
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| Figure | What it represents | Source and date | Limit on what it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $100,000 per month | Reported maximum monthly price for Truth API | Yale Law School case update, September 4, 2026; AP reporting, 2026 | A ceiling, not an established charge per customer |
| About $1.2 million per year | Arithmetic: 12 × $100,000 | Calculated from the reported monthly maximum | Not a reported subscriber payment or company revenue figure |
The parties and their arguments
Each side’s position is a claim before the court. None has been accepted or rejected as a finding.
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The plaintiffs
The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation argue that official government information should be available to the public and the press on equal terms. They say that letting paying customers see posts first, through a company in which the president has a financial interest, creates unequal access and raises constitutional problems. Their requested relief includes an injunction against posting official government information exclusively through the paid early-access API.
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In Yale’s September 4 update, The Intercept’s CEO, Annie Chabel, put the position this way: “Trump doesn’t get to charge people for his own public statements. The First Amendment doesn’t have a paywall, and we’re not going to let him build one.” That is advocacy by a party, not a statement by the court.
The government
Brantley Mayers, a Justice Department civil attorney, defended the arrangement at the hearing. He argued there was no conflict in Trump charging for API access. He compared Trump’s social media announcements to presidential radio addresses and to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats, an analogy the judge challenged.
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Trump Media & Technology Group
The company says paid fast access for traders is common in its industry. It has accused the plaintiffs of trying to silence the president. AP reported that the company characterized the service as a commercial decision.
Amici
Campaign Legal Center, in a case page updated September 23, 2026, summarized an amicus brief filed for 53 former federal prosecutors and law-enforcement agents. The brief argues that the paid arrangement creates corruption and preferential-access concerns and lacks a legitimate government purpose. These are arguments made to the court, not a judicial conclusion or a criminal finding.
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- Gift Cards are shipped active and ready for use.
- This card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Funds do not expire. If available funds remain on your card after the valid thru date has passed, please call customer service for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout. No fees after purchase.
- To access your card information safely, type the complete website address shown on your Gift Card (MyGift.GiftCardMall.com) directly into your browser's address bar. Don't use search engines or shortened versions of the website address, as these may lead you to fake or fraudulent sites. Do not provide any Gift Card details (example: Card Number) to someone you do not know or trust. If you believe you've reached an illegitimate website, contact cardholder service at 1-888-524-1283. Be cautious of phishing sites, there are a variety of scams in which fraudsters try to trick others into paying with gift cards.
- To report your Lost or Stolen Physical Visa Card, call Customer Service 24/7 at 1 (888) 524-1283 to cancel your Gift Card as soon as you can. You will be asked to provide the Gift Card number and other identifying information.
- Use your Visa Gift Card in the U.S. everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including online.
What happened at the October 7 hearing
The Roosevelt question
The most quoted moment came when Judge Oetken pushed back on the government’s analogy: “Well, President Roosevelt didn’t charge money for his fireside chats, did he?” As reported by Ars Technica, the line was a question the judge put to the government. It shows where he pressed the government’s defense, not how he will rule.
Traders versus human readers
Judge Oetken questioned whether a fraction-of-a-second delay would meaningfully harm a human reader. He also acknowledged that an algorithmic trader could use an early signal. That split frames much of the argument: the timing edge matters most to automated systems, while the plaintiffs’ core claim concerns equal access to official information.
Why the case is about more than timing
The feed and the archive
Plaintiffs’ counsel argued at the hearing that the machine-readable feed and searchable historical archive have value for newsrooms. According to Ars Technica, the archive can preserve posts that might later be deleted. Nikhel Sus, chief counsel of CREW, told Ars that news organizations already use APIs and that the archive could help newsrooms keep a more reliable record. He added: “All we’re asking for is that when the president chooses to make government information available to the public, he has to do so on equal terms.”
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Ownership and official posts
As the reporting describes it, the case is unusual because the posts are official communications while the president has a financial interest in the company selling early access. Those two facts are central to the plaintiffs’ theory. Whether they change the legal outcome is for the court to decide, and the reporting does not show how the judge will weigh them.
What a ruling could and could not decide
The motion seeks a preliminary injunction, which is interim relief. Federal courts generally require a party seeking one to show that it is likely to succeed on the merits, that it would suffer irreparable harm without relief, that the balance of hardships favors it, and that an injunction serves the public interest. A ruling on the motion would therefore decide whether to pause the arrangement while the case continues. It would not settle the constitutional questions on their merits.
Quick Recap
- If the motion is granted, the court would order interim relief while the case proceeds. The plaintiffs’ requested scope is an injunction against posting official government information exclusively through the paid API.
- If the motion is denied, the litigation continues without that interim block.
What remains unknown
- Which customers subscribe to Truth API, and what each one pays.
- Whether the service remains commercially available.
- How much delay applies to each post.
- How the court will resolve the access and constitutional claims.
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