Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s push for a $230 million payout from the Department of Justice (DOJ), calling it “rife with conflicts of interest” and warning it could trigger serious political and legal repercussions.
Speaking on NewsNation Saturday, Shapiro told host Batya Ungar-Sargon, “I think that it’s rife with conflicts of interest. I cannot see a world in which that does not end with either a massive number of lawsuits or even an impeachment in the House. That is just a bad strategy.”
Trump is reportedly seeking financial compensation from the DOJ for what he describes as “politically motivated federal investigations” that allegedly damaged his reputation and businesses. The president has claimed he intends to donate the payout to charity.
However, scrutiny intensified after reports revealed that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal attorney to Trump, would be among the officials who could approve the settlement — a move many view as ethically questionable.
Shapiro emphasized that the optics and legality are impossible to overlook. “To pretend that it’s not a conflict of interest, for the president to ask the DOJ that he appointed to maybe sign him a check for $230 million, even if it’s going to go to charity, that obviously raises significant conflicts of interest that I think would be impossible to get around in sort of any legal context,” he said.
Across Washington, Republican senators and Democratic lawmakers alike have voiced alarm over the proposed settlement.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called the timing “horrible,” especially amid a looming government shutdown. “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,” Tillis said, urging DOJ officials to “follow the rules” before approving any payout.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also described the effort as “very irregular,” noting that it risks undermining public trust in federal institutions.
On the Democratic side, Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Robert Garcia (Calif.), ranking members on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform Committees, announced plans to launch a congressional investigation into what they labeled “a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional effort to steal $230 million from the American people.”
In a joint letter addressed to the president, Raskin and Garcia wrote, “You waited until you became President and installed your handpicked loyalists at DOJ, knowing that you could instruct them to co-sign your demand notes in secret behind closed doors, and then you could present the notes to the U.S. Treasury for cold hard cash courtesy of the American taxpayer.”
They added pointedly: “That isn’t justice, it is theft.”
The controversy now adds fresh tension to Washington, already strained by budget disputes and investigations into executive power. Legal analysts warn that if Trump proceeds, the case could spark multiple lawsuits and Congressional inquiries, raising constitutional questions about presidential financial entitlements and separation of powers.
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