Donald Trump estimated this Tuesday, October 21, that the Department of Justice “probably owes him a lot of money,” after the publication in the press of an article according to which he would seek to obtain millions of dollars in compensation for past investigations.
The New York Times states that the US president’s lawyers are asking the Department for about $230 million in compensation for federal proceedings initiated against him before his election for a second term.
“This decision will have to go through my office. And it is very strange to make a decision where I pay myself,” declared the tenant of the White House to the journalists who questioned him about this information, in the Oval Office. “But it moved me deeply,” he added.
The Republican billionaire was, after his first term (2017-2021), the subject of federal investigations for illicit attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 elections won by Joe Biden, and for withholding classified documents. Those investigations were abandoned when he was re-elected last year.
The ministry “probably owes you a lot of money”
Donald Trump estimated that the Justice Department “probably owed him a lot of money.” “If I receive money from our country, I will do something good with it, like donate it to associations or the White House,” he said.
Since returning to the White House, the Republican has filed a series of lawsuits against media outlets and other organizations that he accuses of being biased against him, sometimes winning huge sums of money.
He indicated that “it could be” that his legal team had submitted a request for compensation to the Ministry of Justice, but he assured that “he did not even know the figures” and that “he did not even discuss it with them.”
A spokesperson for the US president’s legal team did not confirm the New York Times information, but told AFP that he “continues to defend himself against all witch hunts carried out by the Democrats.”
Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of Justice refused to comment on this matter. The department’s number two, Todd Blanche, is a former personal lawyer for Donald Trump.
Source: BFM TV
