Trump seeks $230 mn from Department of Justice over earlier investigations

US President Donald Trump has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay him about $230 million (around ₹2,000 crore) as compensation for the federal investigations carried out against him, according to a report by The New York Times.

 

Trump has reportedly filed two official complaints. The first, filed in late 2023, claims his rights were violated during the FBI and special counsel investigations into Russian election tampering and possible connections to the 2016 Trump campaign.

 

The second, filed in mid-2024, reportedly says the FBI invaded his privacy by searching his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, in 2022 for classified documents. It also accuses the DOJ of wrongly charging him for mishandling sensitive records after leaving office.

A first case in American history

The matter is unusual in American history, given that a sitting president is demanding money from the same government he leads, for probes that were conducted against him earlier.

 

When asked about it, Trump said he had been “greatly damaged” but added that any money he receives would be donated to charity. He also said it was “strange” to be in a position where he, as president, would be approving payments to himself.

Settlement to be approved by Trump aides

The settlement will ultimately be approved by senior department officials who defended Trump or those close to him, the report said.

 

According to the Justice Department’s rules, any settlement above $4 million must be approved by top officials, either the deputy attorney general or the associate attorney general, who supervises the department’s civil division. Any compensation is usually covered by taxpayers, the report said.

 

The DOJ isn’t required to announce settlements made before a case becomes a lawsuit publicly, the report said, adding that this means that even if the Trump administration decides to pay the president hundreds of millions of dollars, there might not be any immediate official announcement about it.