President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday at a White House Diwali celebration that he may seek approximately $230 million from the Department of Justice as compensation for federal investigations conducted against him during his first term and under the Biden administration.​

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office following the Diwali festivities, Trump confirmed he could be pursuing the massive payout but claimed to have limited knowledge of the specifics. “It could be,” Trump said when asked about the $230 million figure reported by The New York Times. “I don’t know what the numbers are. I don’t even talk to them about it. All I know is they would owe me a lot of money.”

The unprecedented situation stems from two separate administrative claims filed by Trump’s attorneys in 2023 and 2024 while he was out of office. These complaints serve as precursors to potential lawsuits against the federal government.​

The first claim, submitted in late 2023, seeks damages for alleged violations of Trump’s rights during the FBI and special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential ties between his presidential campaign and the Russian government.​

The second complaint, filed in summer 2024, relates to the classified documents case. Trump alleges that the FBI violated his privacy rights when agents searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in August 2022, and that he was subjected to malicious prosecution by then-special counsel Jack Smith after being charged with mishandling sensitive government documents following his departure from office.​

The situation presents extraordinary ethical challenges, as Trump now controls the very government department tasked with evaluating his compensation claims. “With the country, it’s interesting because I’m the one that makes the decision,” Trump acknowledged during his remarks. “It’s awfully hard to make a decision where I’m paying myself. In other words, did I have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you’re paying yourself in damages?”​

Any settlement would require approval from senior Justice Department officials, several of whom previously served as Trump’s defense attorneys or represented his allies during these very investigations. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, for instance, was Trump’s personal defense attorney in these matters, while another top official, Stanley Woodward Jr., represented Trump’s associates.​​

On October 23, 2025, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia sent a letter to President Trump demanding full disclosure of his administrative claims and characterizing the compensation effort as unconstitutional.

In their letter, Raskin and Garcia argued that Trump’s plan to receive $230 million from the federal government violates the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits the President from receiving any payment from the federal government or states beyond the presidential salary of $400,000 per year.

“The Founders feared presidents like you might one day be tempted to use their powers to steal U.S. taxpayer funds,” the letter states. “That’s why they enshrined a very simple rule into the Constitution, which is called the Domestic Emoluments Clause. As President, you may not receive any payment from the federal government or any of the states, except for your salary.”

The Democratic lawmakers emphasized that this constitutional prohibition is “categorical” and “not even waivable by Congress,” distinguishing it from the Foreign Emoluments Clause where Congress can approve otherwise prohibited gifts.

The congressional letter provides specific details about one of Trump’s administrative claims:

• $85 million sought in punitive damages from the federal government
• $15 million sought in compensatory damages for the cost of defending against Special Counsel proceedings

Notably, the letter points out that punitive damages are “expressly prohibited” under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), the legal mechanism Trump is using to pursue his claims.

The lawmakers also noted that Trump’s second claim “is not even public,” raising transparency concerns about the scope of his demands from the federal government.

The Democratic representatives accused Trump of deliberately waiting until he became President to pursue these claims through his appointed DOJ officials rather than litigating them publicly in court.

“If either of your claims had any merit, you could have taken them to court by now and litigated them publicly,” the letter states. “You did not do that. Instead, you waited until you became President and installed your handpicked loyalists at DOJ, knowing that you could instruct them to co-sign your demand notes in secret behind closed doors, and then you could present the notes to the U.S. Treasury for cold hard cash courtesy of the American taxpayer. That isn’t justice, it is theft.”

The congressional Democrats are demanding that Trump produce extensive documentation by 5:00 p.m. on October 30, 2025, including:

1. All administrative claims filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, including all documentation, exhibits, affidavits, and evidence
2. All correspondence between Trump or his representatives and DOJ officials regarding the claims, over both official and personal channels
3. All correspondence between White House officials and DOJ officials regarding the claims
4. All DOJ memoranda and legal analyses concerning:
   • The legal merits of the claims
   • The prohibition on punitive damages under the FTCA
   • Constitutional implications under the Domestic Emoluments Clause
   • Ethical propriety of Trump’s former personal attorneys making decisions on his claims
   • Conflicts of interest and recusal obligations
   • Any other aspect of the administrative claims
5. All documents identifying which DOJ officials have been assigned to evaluate Trump’s claims, including recusal determinations and ethics guidance

The letter was copied to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, both Republicans who would need to authorize any formal committee action on the requests.

The letter frames Trump’s compensation pursuit as occurring “at a time when most Americans are struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and afford health care,” emphasizing the political optics of a wealthy president seeking hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds.

Raskin and Garcia urged Trump to “renounce your plan publicly and assure the American people that their President is not pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars at their expense,” framing the issue as one of public trust and constitutional governance.