Trump says he'd have final say on money he seeks over past federal
investigations into his conduct
[October 22, 2025]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that
the federal government owes him "a lot of money” for prior Justice
Department investigations into his actions and insisted he would have
the ultimate say on any payout because any decision will “have to go
across my desk.”
Trump's comments to reporters at the White House came in response to
questions about a New York Times story that said he had filed
administrative claims before being reelected seeking roughly $230
million in damages related to the FBI's 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago
property for classified documents and for a separate investigation into
potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump said Tuesday he did not know the dollar figures involved and
suggested he had not spoken to officials about it. But, he added, “All I
know is that, they would owe me a lot of money.”
Though the Justice Department has a protocol for reviewing such claims,
Trump asserted, “It’s interesting, 'cause I’m the one that makes the
decision, right?”
“That decision would have to go across my desk,” he added.
He said he could donate any taxpayer money or use it to help pay for a
ballroom he’s building at the White House.
The status of the claims and any negotiations over them within the
Justice Department was not immediately clear. One of Trump's lead
defense lawyers in the Mar-a-Lago investigation, Todd Blanche, is now
the deputy attorney general at the Justice Department. The current
associate attorney general, Stanley Woodward, represented Trump's valet
and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, in the same case.
“In any circumstance, all officials at the Department of Justice follow
the guidance of career ethics officials,” a Justice Department
spokesperson said. A White House spokesperson referred comment to the
Justice Department.
Trump signaled his interest in compensation during a White House
appearance last week with Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney
General Pam Bondi, who was part of Trump's legal team during one of the
impeachment cases against him.
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President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a
Diwali celebration in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday,
Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“I have a lawsuit that was doing very well, and when I became
president, I said: 'I’m suing myself. I don’t know. How do you
settle the lawsuit?'” he said. ”I’ll say, ‘Give me X dollars,’ and I
don’t know what to do with the lawsuit. It’s a great lawsuit and now
I won, it looks bad. I’m suing myself, so I don’t know."
The Times said the two claims were filed with the Justice Department
as part of a process that seeks to resolve federal complaints
through settlements and avert litigation.
One of the administrative claims, filed in August 2024 and reviewed
by The Associated Press, seeks compensatory and punitive damages
over the search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and the resulting case
alleging he hoarded classified documents and thwarted government
efforts to retrieve them.
His lawyer who filed the claim alleged the case was a “malicious
prosecution” carried out by the Biden administration to hurt Trump’s
bid to reclaim the White House, forcing Trump to spend tens of
millions of dollars in his defense.
That investigation produced criminal charges that Justice Department
special counsel Jack Smith abandoned last November because of
department policy against the indictment of a sitting president.
The Times said the other claim seeks damages related to the
long-concluded Trump-Russia investigation, which continues to
infuriate the president.
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