President Donald Trump gestures as he hosts a Rose Garden Club lunch at the White House in Washington, D.C., Oct. 21, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The New York Times reported sources as saying Trump is seeking approximately $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for investigations into him.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was "not looking for money," but that they "would have to ask the lawyers about that."
"We'll see what happens," Trump said. "We have numerous cases having to do with the fraud of the election, the 2020 election, and because of everything that we found out, I guess they owe me a lot of money. But I'm not looking for money. I'm looking for — really, I think it's got to be, it's got to be handled in a proper way… We don't want it to happen again. We can never let what happened in the 2020 election happen again. We just can't let that happen."
He was later pressed again about the exact dollar amount in the request and said, "I don't know what the number is. I don't even talk to them about it."
Trump then remarked that the decision would have to come across his desk, saying that it would be "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?" Trump said. "But I was damaged very greatly. And any money that I would get, I would give to charity."
President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Despite the president saying that he would donate the funds, some Democrats painted the report as an example of Trump trying to enrich himself.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said on Wednesday morning that the president was looking "to line his own pockets, or he says now to give to a charity of his choice." The senator added to the accusation, saying Trump was "focusing on getting $230 million that he doesn't deserve back into his pocket instead of helping the American people get healthcare."
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Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who was in the middle of an hours-long speech, slammed Trump for "suing the government, then instructing his Department of Justice to settle the suit, thereby translating money into the president's pocket out of the government."
Merkley then remarked that "there is no limit to the self-serving" and called for his colleagues, particularly Republicans, to speak out against the president.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-suggests-doj-owes-him-money-past-cases