Democratic US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have formally requested the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether Trump Media & Technology Group's (TMTG) plan to sell early access to President Donald Trump's Truth Social posts violates federal law.
Trump Media unveiled a paid, licensed data feed called 'Truth API' that offers trading firms real-time access to posts from the ten most influential accounts on Truth Social, including those by President Donald Trump. The company announced the service on July 16.
TMTG has discussed charging up to $100,000 per month for the Truth API service. TMTG's interim CEO Kevin McGurn said the service 'delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform's most market-moving Truths.'
President Donald Trump owns approximately 41% of Trump Media through a trust overseen by his children. Prior to retaking the White House, he transferred more than 114 million TMTG shares to a revocable trust overseen by his family.
Warren and Schiff noted that Trump has used Truth Social to endorse specific stocks, including Citigroup, Intel, and Palantir, raising risks of insider trading and undermining investor confidence. They cited as an example of mixing personal business with presidential affairs that Trump reported receiving over $1.4 billion last year from his family's cryptocurrency projects.
President Donald Trump frequently posts policy announcements and newsworthy information, including reported examples about the Iran war, that moves global markets. Some ethics experts argue that these posts constitute government information and he has an obligation to disseminate it publicly.
The Truth API service could provide particular advantage to high-frequency trading firms. Trump Media stated it has already secured customers ahead of the Truth API's August 1 launch, but did not disclose their identities.
The SEC and Chairman Paul Atkins, a free-market Republican appointed by Trump, confirmed receipt of the letter but declined further comment. Atkins has been described as generally adopting a softer stance on enforcement.
TMTG's share price, which trades as DJT on Nasdaq, has fallen about 80% since the company began trading in late March 2024. TMTG has branched into numerous other sectors, including cryptocurrency and fusion power.