One of CNN’s resident MAGA defenders knocked Donald Trump over the president’s demand that the Justice Department pay him $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him, noting that the public likely wouldn’t have an appetite for the commander-in-chief personally taking “taxpayer dollars.”
On top of that, David Urban – a former senior adviser to president’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns – said that Trump businesses were not “harmed” by the DOJ criminal probes, and nobody “would say” that Trump deserves the taxpayer money.
Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that the president is demanding that the DOJ pay him hundreds of millions of dollars to settle his complaints with the department regarding the investigations conducted against him over the years.
In late 2023, Trump privately submitted a complaint seeking damages over what he claimed were multiple violations of his rights, specifically citing the FBI and special counsel investigations into potential connections between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia’s election meddling.
Additionally, in the summer of 2024, the president filed a second complaint accusing the FBI of violating his privacy during the 2022 raid of his Mar-a-Lago resort as part of the classified documents case against him. The complaint also alleges that the DOJ engaged in malicious prosecution by charging him with mishandling classified information.
Speaking from the White House on Tuesday, Trump didn’t dispute the Times’ story, instead asserting that he’d been “damaged very greatly” and that any cash he’d receive from the government would go to charity. He also ran through his usual list of grievances over the federal probes.
“Now with the country, it's interesting, because I’m the one that makes the decision and that decision would have to go across my desk and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself,’ Trump added, insisting that the federal government “would owe me a lot of money.”
During a Tuesday appearance on CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt, Urban – who is a senior political commentator for the network – defended the president’s anger over the multiple criminal investigations he’s faced.
At the same time, however, he warned Trump that the American public would likely have no appetite for a taxpayer-funded payoff, particularly when the government is in a prolonged shutdown that has resulted in painful cuts and furloughs.
“Most of those cases that are brought against the president are just egregious,” Urban declared, citing the civil fraud and hush-money cases in New York, which resulted in felony convictions and a massive financial penalty.
Saying that he “can understand some of what the president wants,” especially over the “Russiagate” probe since Urban was part of the 2016 campaign, the ex-Trump adviser then echoed an observation made by fellow panelist Lulu Garcia-Navarro, a New York Times reporter and CNN contributor.
“But to Lulu’s point exactly, this is taxpayer dollars, right? If the president wants to get an apology from the Department of Justice, or from somebody for doing him wrong – [that’s] one thing,” Urban stated.
“For John Q. Public to come out of their checkbook to pay him money – it’s not like Donald Trump’s brand has been hurt by that,” he added. “If you go around the world and look at these Trump developments, the Trump properties and how profitable the Trump organization is today, I don’t think it was harmed by any of that.”
Ultimately, as Urban pointed out, the president “may be personally aggrieved” and feels he deserves “an apology from some of these folks,” but for him to receive taxpayer money over his grievances is “probably not something that you want to see.
During a panel discussion hours later on Anderson Cooper’s primetime program, Urban reiterated his stance that Trump’s personal demand for government cash would be highly unpopular.
“So I think Donald Trump is rightfully upset about that. But does he deserve $230 million of taxpayer dollars? I don't think anyone would say so,” he proclaimed.
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