President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding the Justice Department pay him $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him – a settlement that could ultimately face approval by one of his former lawyers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Trump’s demands, reported first by the New York Times Tuesday, are related to two complaints, made through “an administrative claims process” that he submitted regarding probes by the Justice Department.
One, submitted in 2023, seeks damages for violations of his rights regarding the special counsel and FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, sources familiar with the matter told the Times.
The other, filed in 2024, raises complaints that the FBI violated the president’s privacy while searching his Mar-a-Lago residence in 2022 for allegedly mishandling classified documents.
It’s possible the settlement’s approval could land in front of a key Justice Department official whom Trump has known for years. Before joining the administration, Blanche defended Trump in his New York criminal trial, in which he was found guilty of falsifying business records. He also defended Trump in his federal classified documents case and election interference case.
The White House deferred questions about the matter to the Justice Department.
Chad Gilmartin, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, said in a statement: “In any circumstance, all officials at the Department of Justice follow the guidance of career ethics officials.”
When asked about the potential settlement at the White House, Trump told reporters “Well, I guess they probably owe me a lot of money.”
“They probably owe me a lot of money, but if 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 while we restore the White House,” Trump added.
For years, Trump has railed against the prior administration and Democrats for “weaponizing” the Justice Department to pursue criminal cases against him for political reasons.
“What they did was criminal,” Trump told reporters last week. “They raided my house in Florida, it was an illegal raid.”
The president appeared to reference his complaints with the Justice Department during that press conference, in which Blanche, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel were present.
“I have lawsuit that’s doing very well. When I became president I said, I’m sort of suing myself, I don’t know how – how do you settle the lawsuit? I’ll say give me X dollars and I don’t know what to do with the lawsuit, it’s a great lawsuit,” Trump said.
The president has often complained about the Mar-a-Lago raid in which federal agents found 300 classified documents, some related to national defense secrets classified under the Espionage Act, among a trove of boxes stored in a bathroom, ballroom and storage room.
His administrative complaint to the department reportedly accuses former Attorney General Merrick Garland, former FBI Director Christopher Wray and former special counsel Jack Smith of malicious prosecution in addition to violating his privacy.
The classified documents case against Trump and two co-conspirators, was thrown out by a Trump-appointed judge in Florida last year.
Although the president’s complaints, submitted via a Standard Form 95, are not technically lawsuits, they can precede lawsuits if a settlement is not reached.
Per the Justice Department manual, any settlement of claims that exceed $4 million must be approved by the deputy attorney general.
There does not appear to be a specific rule about the Justice Department disclosing settlements of administrative complaints. A former Justice Department official told the Times that if or when the department pays out millions to the president, it may not be immediately clear.
Democrats railed against Trump upon reading the Times article.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said, “Donald Trump won’t help Americans, but he’ll sure help himself. In less than a year, he’s turned the taxpayer into his personal piggy bank. While he refuses to extend tax credits to prevent massive health care cost increases for 22 million Americans, he’s trying to get the government to pay him $230 million in legal damages using taxpayer dollars.”
Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona wrote on X, “@POTUS is ordering the government he runs to pay him. In other countries the leaders at least try to hide win they steal money from the citizens.”
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