Trump’s blatantly illegal attempt to take $230 million from taxpayers hits a roadblock

Two top House Democrats sent a letter to President Donald Trump warning him that his effort to order the Justice Department to pay him $230 million in taxpayer funds as compensation for its investigations into him during the Biden administration is unconstitutional and illegal.

The letter from Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, notes that the Internal Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits the president from receiving any additional payment above his salary from the federal government and that the Federal Tort Claims also prohibits the payment of damages that Trump seeks.

“In statements to the press this week, you described a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional effort to steal $230 million from the American people,” the letter states. “His plan to have his obedient subordinates at the Department of Justice (DOJ) order the U.S. Treasury to pay him, personally, hundreds of millions of dollars – especially at a time when most Americans are struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and pay for health care – is an outrageous and shocking attempt to extort money from the American people.”

Jim Lo Scalzo/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump has filed administrative complaints with the Justice Department alleging that his rights were violated by Justice Department investigations into his illegal retention of classified documents and Russia’s role in the 2016 election. The $230 million in damages he is seeking would first have to be approved by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Civil Division Chief Stanley Woodward Jr. before likely need Trump’s final approval. Blanche previously served as Trump’s personal attorney during these investigations, while Woodward served as an attorney for Trump aide Walt Nauta in the classified documents case. The conflict of interest is so obvious that even Trump has commented on it.

“I have a lawsuit that was working very well, and when I became president, I said, ‘I’m suing myself,'” Trump said in the Oval Office on Oct. 15. “I don’t know, how do you resolve the lawsuit? I’ll say, ‘Give me X dollars, right?’ And I don’t know what to do with the lawsuit. It’s a big lawsuit. And now that I won, it looks bad, I’m suing myself, right?

Raskin and García agree that it looks bad.

“If any of your claims had any merit, you could have already taken them to court and litigated them publicly. You did not do so,” his letter says. “Instead, he waited until he became president and installed his hand-picked loyalists in the Justice Department, knowing he could order them to co-sign his demand notes in secret behind closed doors, and then he could submit the notes to the U.S. Treasury for cash, courtesy of the American taxpayer. That’s not justice, it’s theft.”

The letter goes on to demand the White House hand over a litany of information about Trump’s “ongoing conspiracy” to raid the US Treasury for his own benefit. This includes all relevant correspondence with Justice Department officials, including Blanche, all Justice Department memoranda or other legal opinions related to the case, and all materials identifying who in the Justice Department is involved in overseeing Trump’s pursuit of damages.

While Democrats are currently in the minority in the House, Raskin and Garcia’s letter indicates their intention to investigate this matter now and to use Congress’ subpoena power if Democrats gain control in the 2026 elections.