Democrats call for investigation into Trump Media's plan to sell early access to Trump posts

"This appears to be an outrageous abuse of the office of President for personal gain, which harms ordinary investors and the integrity of the markets while enriching Wall Street and other privileged and wealthy participants," Warren and Schiff wrote in a letter to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins. An SEC spokesperson and Atkins himself — a free-market Republican appointed by Trump who has generally taken a softer stance on market oversight — confirmed receipt of the letter, but declined to comment on the matter. The White House referred requests for comment to Trump Media, which did not respond at press time. Early access for payment According to reports from Reuters and other outlets, Trump Media discussed charging up to US$100,000 per month for access to the Truth API. Trump's publications on social media have already caused fluctuations in the financial market, and the speed of accessing this type of information could represent an advantage for brokerages, hedge funds and other companies that trade assets based on news. Trump, who controls about 41% of Trump Media through a trust managed by his children, could benefit financially from the new business model. The company reported that it has already closed contracts with customers before the official launch of the service, scheduled for August 1st, but did not reveal the names of the buyers. In Warren and Schiff's assessment, Truth API is yet another example of the mix between Trump's business interests and his functions as president, raising ethical questions. They remember that, last month, Trump reported having received more than US$1.4 billion in the last year from his family's cryptocurrency projects. While technology companies can typically sell early access to data to customers, even if it benefits some market participants, ethics experts say the Truth API case is different. This is because Trump's publications may contain information of public interest related to the exercise of the Presidency, which, according to them, would require broad and simultaneous disclosure. The senators also highlighted that Trump has already used Truth Social to recommend shares in companies such as Citigroup, Intel and Palantir. In their assessment, the sale of early access to these publications may increase the risk of use of privileged information and compromise investors' confidence in equal market conditions.