Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro isn't buying President Donald Trump’s attempts to justify taking millions from the U.S. Department of Justice.
On Friday. Shapiro warned that Trump's desire to raid the federal bank to line his own pockets will lead to a "massive number of lawsuits or even an impeachment in the House."
Trump wants a $230 million payout, which he believes he is owed as compensation for the federal investigations into his campaign and businesses over the last decade. The president has been at the center of numerous investigations, including a DOJ investigation into whether or not Russia was connected to his 2016 presidential campaign, for his role in kicking off the Capitol riot, and for his handling and retention of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago golf club after he left office.
On Friday, Shapiro told NewsNation that Trump's request is "rife with conflicts of interest."
Shapiro made sure to signal he wasn't turning on Trump — insisting that he was "incredibly sympathetic" to the president and his family for being "targeted by law enforcement" — but he was questioning his strategy.
The podcaster isn't the only right-wing voice criticizing Trump's move.
Scott Jennings, who is frequently on CNN running damage control for Trump, suggested on Tuesday that Trump should wait until he is out of office before pursuing damages, Mediaite reports.
Senator Thom Tillis told CNN on Wednesday that he felt the ongoing government shutdown — and the resulting disruption to federal programs and payments — was a poor backdrop for Trump's announcement that he planned to pay himself with public money.
“It’s terrible optics, particularly right now,” he said. “We’re talking about a quarter of a billion dollars transferring, maybe to the President when we’re in a shutdown posture.”
Trump insisted that he would "do something nice" with the $230 million if he received it.
“[I]f I get money from our country, I’ll do something nice with it, like give it to charity or give it to the White House, where we restore the White House,” Trump said on Tuesday while responding to a reporter.
The president's construction projects have already made headlines this week after Trump authorized the complete demolition of the East Wing of the White House. That portion of the building stood for 123 years and was built during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. FDR later rebuilt it in the 1940's.
Trump knocked down the East Wing to build a $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
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