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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the federal government owes him “a lot of money” for previous Justice Department investigations into his actions and insisted he would have the final say on any payment because any decision “will have to go through my desk.”
Trump’s comments to reporters at the White House came in response to questions about a New York Times story that said he had filed administrative claims before he was re-elected seeking approximately $230 million in damages related to the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago property for classified documents and for a separate investigation into possible ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump said Tuesday that he did not know the dollar figures involved and suggested he had not spoken to officials about it. But he added: “All I know is that they owe me a lot of money.”
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Although the Justice Department has a protocol for reviewing such claims, Trump said, “It’s interesting, because I’m the one making the decision, right?”
“That decision would have to go through my desk,” he added.
He said he could donate any taxpayer money or use it to help pay for a ballroom he is building at the White House.
The status of the claims and any negotiations over them within the Justice Department were not immediately clear. One of Trump’s lead defense lawyers in the Mar-a-Lago investigation, Todd Blanche, is now the Justice Department’s deputy attorney general. Current Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward represented Trump’s valet and co-defendant Walt Nauta in the same case.
“Under all circumstances, all Justice Department officials follow the guidance of professional ethics officials,” a Justice Department spokesperson said. A White House spokesperson referred comment to the Justice Department.
Trump signaled his interest in compensation during an appearance at the White House last week with Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was part of Trump’s legal team during one of the impeachment cases against him.
“I have a lawsuit that was doing very well, and when I became president I said, ‘I’m suing myself. I don’t know. How do you resolve the lawsuit?'” he said. “I tell them, ‘Give me
The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Times said the two claims were filed with the Justice Department as part of a process that seeks to resolve federal complaints through settlements and avoid litigation.
One of the administrative claims, filed in August 2024 and reviewed by The News, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the search of his Mar-a-Lago property and the resulting case alleging he hoarded classified documents and thwarted government efforts to recover them.
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His lawyer who filed the lawsuit alleged that the case was a “malicious prosecution” carried out by the Biden administration to harm Trump’s bid to retake the White House, forcing Trump to spend tens of millions of dollars on his defense.
That investigation produced criminal charges that Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith dropped last November because of the department’s policy against impeaching a sitting president.
The Times said the other claim seeks damages related to the long-concluded Trump-Russia investigation, which continues to enrage the president.