Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether Trump Media & Technology Group’s new premium data service, which gives subscribers early access to President Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts, violates federal securities laws.
In a letter sent to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and reviewed by Reuters, the lawmakers argued that the service could give select investors an unfair advantage in financial markets while allowing the president to profit from information capable of moving stock prices.
Earlier this month, Trump Media unveiled its Truth API service, a licensed subscription product that offers trading firms the fastest access to posts from the platform’s 10 most influential accounts, including President Trump’s. The company plans to launch the service on August 1.
Warren and Schiff said the initiative raises serious ethical concerns by blurring the line between the president’s official responsibilities and his private business interests, warning that it could undermine market integrity and investor confidence.
“The arrangement appears to be a blatant misuse of presidential authority for personal financial gain, disadvantaging ordinary investors, eroding the integrity of US financial markets, and disproportionately benefiting Wall Street firms and wealthy insiders,” the senators wrote.
An SEC spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but declined to comment. Atkins, who was appointed by President Trump and has generally taken a lighter approach to enforcement, also offered no further response.
Trump Media rejected the allegations, accusing Senate Democrats of misrepresenting the Truth API service.
“Senate Democrats continue to mischaracterize Truth API either out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information or quite possibly, both,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The White House referred requests for comment to Trump Media.
Reuters and other media outlets have reported that Trump Media intends to charge customers as much as $100,000 per month for access to the premium data feed. The company also said it has already secured customers ahead of the August 1 launch but has not disclosed their identities.
President Trump, who indirectly owns about 41% of Trump Media through a trust overseen by his children, stands to benefit financially from the subscription service. His Truth Social posts have previously influenced financial markets, making rapid access to his statements particularly valuable to traders.
The senators also argued that the service raises ethical concerns because the president’s social media posts often contain information relating to government policy and should be released to the public simultaneously. They further noted that Trump has previously used Truth Social to endorse companies, including Citigroup, Intel and Palantir, warning that early access could increase the risk of insider trading and erode confidence in the fairness of US financial markets.
In response, a Trump Media spokesperson said the lawmakers had “invented a new theory of ‘insider trading’ based on publicly available information.”
Follow us on:
