GOP senators disconcerted by possible $230M Justice Department payout to Trump
Reports this week that President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him $230 million in compensation for wrongful prosecution is making Republican senators uncomfortable amid the 24-day government shutdown.
GOP senators, including members of the Judiciary Committee, don’t know how to respond to the story, which broke in The New York Times on Tuesday, that Trump is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from the Justice Department and his former defense lawyer is in a position to sign off on the settlement.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary panel, which has oversight of the Justice Department, said while Trump may be entitled to some compensation, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche should not be the person signing off on a settlement, given his ties to Trump.
“He shouldn’t decide because he’s his former lawyer,” Graham said when asked whether Blanche should recuse himself from the decision on whether to pay Trump for damages related to the investigations of former special counsel Jack Smith.
But Graham says the president has a right, just as any American does, to seek compensation if the Justice Department’s investigation and prosecution were deemed to be damaging and wrongful.
“He has a right to make a claim if he was wronged,” he said.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) warned on Wednesday that the political “optics” of Trump receiving a windfall payment from the Justice Department raise “concerns,” and he said the timing of the news was “horrible” because hundreds of thousands of federal workers aren’t getting paid because of the shutdown.
“At the very least it’s horrible timing given that we’re in a shutdown,” Tillis told reporters outside the Judiciary Committee hearing room.
“I got a lot of optics concerns and I just don’t know if there’s precedent for it. There doesn’t seem to be,” he said.
Tillis warned Justice Department officials that they need to “follow the rules” in approving any damages to Trump, given Blanche’s previous position as Trump’s defense attorney.
“If there’s precedent, that’s the beginning of the discussion,” Tillis said Thursday. “If there isn’t precedent for this sort of thing, I don’t think this is the time to establish it.”
On the question of whether Blanche should recuse himself, Tillis said: “He’s got to confirm with whatever recusal rules are there or customs.”
“He’s got to follow the rules,” Tillis advised.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she has yet to understand all the details surrounding the possible payout to Trump but called the arrangement “very irregular.”
“I don’t know a thing about it so I’m not going to comment, but it sounds very irregular to me,” she said.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said she couldn’t imagine the administration signing off on a $230 million payment to Trump, given the optics concerns raised by other Republicans such as Tillis.
“There are probably a lot of people who feel like they’ve been wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government. I’m not sure that that’s even possible,” she said of a large compensation payment to the president. “I would highly doubt that.”
“I can’t see that happening,” she added.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said he doesn’t want to judge whether Blanche’s past role as Trump’s defense lawyer poses a conflict of interest but appeared open to the idea that Trump could receive payment for damages from the government.
But Cramer, a staunch Trump ally, warned a payout to the president OK’d by his subordinates at the Justice Department could give liberal Democrats “a good talking point” ahead of the next election.
Cramer said Trump “probably should get something for wrongful prosecutions,” but he said he would leave it to the American Bar Association and other legal ethics experts to decide whether it’s appropriate that Blanche has power to sign off on the settlement, given his professional ties to Trump’s legal defense.
Cramer said most voters won’t be bothered by a financial settlement between the Justice Department and Trump, though he acknowledged that the millions of Americans who showed up at “No Kings” rallies this past weekend would be sure to seize on it as the latest cause for outrage.
“The man, woman on the street, they know Donald Trump, they elected Donald Trump. Nothing about this, I don’t think, is either surprising or concerning to them,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good talking point for the No Kings crowd.”
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee say any payout to Trump would become an explosive issue in next year’s election.
“Talk about something to be answerable next November when you have your former personal lawyer involved in sending a cash distribution to you — with no legitimate test or review — out of public money, while you’re cutting health care benefits and SNAP benefits for people,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), referring to the cuts to Medicaid and food assistance spending enacted earlier this year.
“That’s like a suicide mission to me, so I suspect a few Republicans might see this as not the smartest move ever,” he added.
Trump acknowledged the awkward nature of his demands for restitution from the Justice Department given that he’s now the president. His legal team initially filed its claims for damages in 2023 and 2024, according to the Times.
“I have a lawsuit that was doing very well, and when I became president, I said, I’m sort of suing myself,” Trump said last week.
“It sort of looks bad, I’m suing myself, right? So I don’t know. But that was a lawsuit that was very strong, very powerful.”
The president told the outlet in a statement that he had been “greatly” damaged by what he viewed as wrongful prosecutions and he will give any award to charity.
“I was damaged very greatly and any money I would get, I would give to charity,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) declined to comment Wednesday, telling reporters he had not followed the story of Trump’s demand for payment from the Justice Department.