Donald Trump has claimed that he could pay himself $1 billion in US government money as damages for a raid carried out at his Mar-a-Lago estate by the FBI.
Federal agents searched Trump’s property in Palm Beach, Florida in August 2022 as part of an investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents during his first term in office. Last year, the case was dismissed by a judge, who ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith did not have the authority to prosecute the president.
Trump addressed the issue during his rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on Friday, calling the search “illegal” and claiming that the FBI had been “forced” to conduct the operarion by the then President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ).
“These thugs are disgusting and we cannot let them get away with this stuff,” he insisted.
The president told the crowd that he had filed a lawsuit over the raid and assured that he will be “winning” it.
“There is only one problem… I am suing and I am the one that is supposed to settle. So maybe I will give myself $1 billion and give it all to charity. Does that make sense?” he asked.
Trump claimed that “there has never been a case like this. Donald Trump sues the US. Donald Trump becomes president. And now Donald Trump has to settle the suit… Isn’t that a strange position to be in? I have got to make a deal – I negotiate with myself.”
“’I hereby give myself $1 billion.’ Actually, maybe I shouldn’t give it to charity. Maybe I should keep the money… No, I don’t want to do it. But whatever happens, it is all going to good charities,” he promised.
Trump’s lawyers filed two separate administrative claims in 2023 and 2024 over DOJ’s investigations into him. The claims are technically not lawsuits and are first reviewed by the US Department of Justice to determine if they can be resolved out of court.
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The New York Times reported in October that the president has been pushing for the DOJ to pay him a $230 million settlement.
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