Rep. Ritchie Torres is pressing the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Trump Media & Technology Group's new data product crosses legal lines, raising questions about whether the sitting president's market-moving announcements should be available for purchase by wealthy institutions.
In a letter sent Monday to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the New York Democrat urged the agency to review Truth API before its August 1 launch date and determine whether the product violates securities laws, market manipulation statutes, or investor protection rules. The service will give paying customers real-time access to posts from Truth Social's top 10 trending accounts, with TMTG executives pitching licensing fees of up to $100,000 per month.
Torres highlighted the core concern in stark terms: the difference between a platform licensing ordinary data and a company substantially owned by the sitting president selling sophisticated traders faster access to his policy announcements. Trump retains approximately 41% ownership through a revocable trust.
"Presidential communications capable of affecting stocks, bonds, oil, currencies, and other assets should not become a premium financial product that gives wealthy institutions a millisecond advantage over retail investors," Torres wrote in the letter, obtained by Axios. He noted that even brief informational edges can generate substantial profits in algorithmic trading and erode public confidence in fair markets.
The product is slated to expand to additional accounts in the future for customers willing to pay higher licensing fees, according to interim CEO Kevin McGurn.
A TMTG spokesperson defended the service, telling Axios that Truth API simply offers customers the fastest way to ingest publicly available Truth Social data. The company has not addressed the conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Torres, who specifically asked the SEC to coordinate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Government Ethics, and other federal agencies on potential conflicts.
The pushback crosses party lines. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Truth API "the definition of insider trading" last week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the product exists in legally uncharted territory, telling reporters Tuesday that he assumes it will face regulatory and legal scrutiny. "My assumption is that'll get tested somewhere," Thune said. "It's kind of plowing new ground, new territory in these predictive markets."
The SEC has a history with Trump Media. The agency previously scrutinized the company's accounting firm and the SPAC that merged with TMTG, settling with Digital World Acquisition Corporation in 2023. TMTG stock has surged recently on optimism about its business expansion plans, though it remains significantly below its 2024 post-merger peak.
Author James Rodriguez: "If the government is serious about maintaining market integrity, this product demands more than a regulatory shrug. A president's tweets moving markets for a subscriber fee is exactly the kind of conflict that should trigger immediate SEC action."
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