House Democrats accused President Donald Trump on Monday of attempting to use the Department of Justice to improperly pay himself for legal damages he has incurred over the past decade, and they demanded senior department officials recuse themselves from the matter.
In a public letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and senior official Stanley Woodward, House Judiciary Committee Democrats called the possible payout ‘a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional effort to steal’ millions of dollars from taxpayers.
Trump’s interest in the payout was first reported last week by the New York Times, which said Trump began seeking what amounted to $230 million through an administrative claims process that top DOJ officials would typically need to approve. Trump filed the claims in 2023 and 2024, before he took office, according to the report.
The committee Democrats, led by ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., warned of repercussions for paying Trump and demanded a slate of nonpublic information about Trump’s reported requests, laying the groundwork for a possible future investigation if they were to take the majority and gain subpoena power in a year.
‘You could face civil liability, ethics investigations, professional discipline, and potential criminal liability for conspiracy to defraud the United States,’ the lawmakers wrote.
They have been among many Democrats, and some Republicans, to scrutinize the president for potentially accepting the lump sum from a department he now runs.
Trump recently addressed the report in the Oval Office, saying ‘it would be awfully strange’ to pay himself. Trump is reportedly seeking payments for damages incurred by the DOJ’s investigations into alleged Trump-Russia collusion and former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations.
‘In other words, did you ever have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you’re paying yourself in damages?’ Trump said. ‘But I was damaged very greatly. And any money that I would get, I would give to charity.’
House Democrats countered that Trump ‘does not get the right to take a bribe or kickback just by promising to give the proceeds to charity.’
They also demanded Blanche and Woodward, who worked on Trump’s legal defense team during his criminal prosecutions, recuse themselves from any decisions about compensating Trump.
Asked for comment, a spokesman for committee Republicans accused the Democrats of fixating too much on Trump.
‘Democrats should focus on opening the government and paying federal workers, many of whom live in Ranking Member Raskin’s district, rather than obsessing over President Trump who clearly did nothing wrong,’ committee spokesman Russell Dye said. ‘But sadly, their priority will always be attacking President Trump instead of paying the troops, air traffic controllers, and families who are hurting because of the Democrat shutdown.’
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.