Donald Trump Dodges Question After Reports Swirl He's Seeking to Force the DOJ to Pay Him $230 Million for Being Investigated During the Biden Presidency

Donald Trump isn’t ready to talk about reports claiming he’s demanding $230 million from the U.S. Department of Justice as compensation for being investigated during Joe Biden’s presidency.

According to The New York Times, the president filed two formal complaints in 2023 and 2024 seeking damages for what he believes were violations of his rights.

Trump seemed caught off guard when reporters brought up the story during a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday, October 21.

“Are you asking the Justice Department to look into the federal investigations into you and look for compensation, and how much are you asking for?” one reporter asked.

“Um, who is asking for what?” Trump responded, appearing confused.

After the reporter repeated her question, Trump doubled down.

“Whose compensation? Whose compensation? I don’t get any compensation; I do it for nothing. I gave up my salary,” he said. “I guess they probably owe me a lot of money for that.”

He then shifted the topic back to his salary and added that if he ever received cash, he’d use it for something positive.

“As far as the litigation and everything that’s been involved, yeah, they probably owe me a lot of money, but if I get money from our country, I’ll do something nice with it, like give it to charity or give it to the White House while we restore the White House,” he said.

The outlet reported that any potential payout would require approval from top DOJ officials — some of whom previously served as Trump’s defense attorneys or represented his allies.

The settlement discussions reportedly stem from two separate administrative claims Trump’s lawyers filed after he left office. One centers on the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. The other involves claims of malicious prosecution by then–special counsel Jack Smith and privacy violations from the FBI’s August 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents.

During a recent Oval Office meeting, Trump seemed to reference the situation.

"I have a lawsuit that was doing very well, and when I became president I said, 'I'm sort of suing myself,'" he joked. "I don't know, how do you settle the lawsuit, I'll say give me X dollars, and I don't know what to do with the lawsuit. It sort of looks bad, I'm suing myself, right?"

When pressed again about the Times report, Trump said, “I don't even talk to them about it — all I know is that they would owe me a lot of money, but I don't, I'm not looking for money. I'd give it to charity or something.”

He continued, “It's interesting, because I'm the one that makes a decision, right? And you know that decision would have to go across my desk, and it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself. In other words, did you ever have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you're paying yourself in damages? But I was damaged very greatly, and any money that I would get, I would give to charity.”