For Immediate Release: August 22, 2026 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Steady State, an organization of more than 420 former national security, intelligence, diplomatic, military, law enforcement, and homeland security officials on August 21 transmitted a formal criminal referral to the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting immediate investigation and preservation of evidence concerning Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.’s sale of preferential access to potentially market-moving posts from Truth Social’s most influential accounts, foremost among them President Trump’s. “Truth API”, operating since August 1, delivers posts from Truth Social’s most influential accounts, including President Trump’s, to banks, hedge funds, and high-frequency trading firms at reported rates of $60,000 to as much as $100,000 per month. Trump Media markets it as “the fastest access to Truth Social’s most influential” accounts, delivered “in milliseconds,” and reported on August 10 that it has “more than ten customer agreements signed.” The President uses his Truth Social account to announce U.S. policy on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, tariffs, and sanctions, and is the beneficial owner of approximately 41 percent of Trump Media through a revocable trust. The referral asks investigators to determine whether paying subscribers receive presidential posts before the public; who in the White House and at Trump Media controls the timing and release of those posts; whether subscribers have traded on them; and who benefits from the revenue. It identifies potential violations of federal criminal, securities, commodities, and ethics laws and constitutional provisions, including those governing conversion of government property, unauthorized disclosure of protected government information, wire and honest-services fraud, conspiracy and aiding and abetting, securities fraud under the misappropriation theory, the Commodity Exchange Act, the STOCK Act, executive-branch conflict-of-interest rules, and the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses. As an example of the stakes, it cites a reported surge of roughly nine times normal crude-oil futures volume in a two-minute window minutes before the President’s March 24 Iran post. It also documents a March 2026 fundraising email offering donors the President’s “private national security briefings.” Senators Warner, Warren, and Schiff, Representative Raskin, and a former senior SEC official have already raised alarms, and a lawsuit challenging the arrangement on constitutional grounds was filed August 12. No enforcement agency has publicly announced an inquiry. “This referral does not presume that any identified person has committed a crime.” It “asks the responsible authorities to determine whether a publicly traded company in which the President is the largest beneficial owner is offering, for a fee, preferential access to the timing of the President’s official communications, and, if so, whether the creation, sale, or use of that advantage violates federal criminal, securities, ethics, or disclosure laws.” The full referral is available at LINK. About The Steady State The Steady State is an organization of more than 420 former national security professionals committed to defending American democracy from rising authoritarian threats. Its members include former ambassadors and senior State Department officials, senior CIA, Defense officials, FBI and DHS leaders, USAID and NSC staff, and senior congressional staff from both Republican and Democratic administrations. Media Contact: Email: contact@thesteadystate.org Phone: (212) 685-9660 |