Trump Confirms Legal Action Against DOJ, Vows Any Payout Will Go to Charity
President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he is pursuing damages against the Department of Justice over what he described as politically motivated investigations, and emphasized that if any money is awarded, it will be donated to charity.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump said his legal team had filed complaints seeking damages for what he called the DOJ’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 and 2020 elections. “They rigged the election,” Trump said. “All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money, but I’m not looking for money. I’d give it to charity or something.”
The president made it clear he has no personal interest in financial compensation. “I don’t know what the numbers are, I don’t even talk to them about it,” he said. “That decision would have to go across my desk, and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”
The president was responding to a report in The New York Times claiming his legal team is seeking $230 million in damages from the Justice Department, citing prior investigations into Trump’s campaign and presidency.
Trump said the principle is more important than the payout. “I was damaged very greatly and any money that I would get, I would give to charity,” he said.
He also referenced other settlements he’s already secured, including $16 million from CBS and $15 million from ABC. “They paid me a lot of money because what they did was wrong,” Trump said, contrasting those civil defamation cases with the legal entanglement involving the DOJ. “This one’s a little different, obviously, because I’m the one who makes the decision.”
The legal action traces back to two formal complaints filed before Trump’s second term began. The first, submitted in 2023, demanded compensation over the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, both of which Trump has long claimed were based on discredited evidence tying his campaign to Russia.
A second administrative claim filed in 2024 targets the DOJ’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents. That probe led to the FBI’s controversial raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence—an action that galvanized Trump’s supporters and fueled accusations of political targeting.
Though the complaints have not yet matured into full lawsuits, they mark a new phase in Trump’s effort to hold federal agencies accountable for what he has repeatedly called “abuse of power.”
The DOJ’s ability to settle administrative claims rests with top officials appointed by Trump himself, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Whether those claims are approved remains unclear.
For now, Trump says the outcome is secondary to the message.
“I just want the American people to understand what was done to me, and more importantly, what was done to this country,” he said. “I’ll give every penny to charity, but we’re not letting it go.”