Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro criticized President Trump’s effort on Saturday Receive payment of $230 million from the Department of Justice (DOJ) as compensation for various federal investigations of his conduct.
“I think it’s full of conflicts of interest,” Shapiro told newsnation’s Batya Ungar-Sargon,
He said, “I can’t see a world that doesn’t end with a large number of lawsuits or even impeachment in the House. That’s just a bad strategy.”
Trump has alleged that previous DOJ investigations into his conduct were “politically motivated” and damaged his reputation.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch, who previously worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, will be one of those responsible for signing the agreement, which the president has said he will donate to charity.
“To pretend that this is not a conflict of interest, for the President to ask the DOJ, who he appointed, to perhaps ask them to sign a check for $230 million, even if it’s going to charity, this clearly gives rise to a significant conflict of interest that I think would be impossible to overcome in any legal context,” Shapiro said.
GOP senators and other lawmakers also raised important concerns On effort.
“It’s terrible timing, to say the least, given that we’re in a shutdown,” Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters earlier this week.
He added, “I found a lot of concerns about optics, and I don’t know if there’s any precedent for this. There doesn’t seem to be one.”
He also urged DOJ officials to “follow the rules” when it comes to approving any funds handed over to Trump.
“If there’s a precedent, it’s the beginning of a discussion,” Tillis said later Thursday. “If there’s no precedent for this kind of thing, I don’t think this is the time to set it.”
Sen susan collins (R-Maine) also said the effort seems “very irregular.”
House Democrats said they plan to investigate Trump’s push to obtain damages was described as “a clearly illegal and unconstitutional effort to steal $230 million from the American people.”
Representative. jamie raskin (Mo.) and robert garcia (California), the top Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees wrote a letter to the President highlighting the ill-timed timing of Trump’s push for a $230 million settlement.
“You waited until you became President and installed your hand-picked loyalists at the 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, courtesy of the American taxpayers,” the lawmakers wrote.
He added, “This is not justice, this is theft.”
