As the government shutdown passes its 25th day with no end in sight and funds for vital government programs dry up, President Donald Trump announced that he is suing his own Department of Justice for investigations into his alleged misconduct before his 2024 election win. He is asking for $230 million in total damages.
The lawsuit centers on two separate complaints filed by Trump prior to his return to the White House this January. The first claim revolves around the special counsel investigation into alleged Russian ties to Trump’s 2016 campaign, and the second around his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The idea that a U.S. president can sue the DOJ and pay himself hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars is ludicrous. Doing so violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the president from receiving gifts from the federal government. Trump’s lawsuit is an egregious misuse of executive power for which there is no precedent. Moreover, only the victims of crimes are eligible for restitution, not those who were subjects of investigation. The unnerving truth is that Trump may succeed in his scheme, despite obvious ethical concerns.
Trump has already shown a willingness to weaponize his own DOJ in order to go after his enemies. He forced the resignation of U.S. Attorney Erik Seibert after he declined to charge former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, an adversary of the president, due to insufficient evidence. Trump replaced him with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience. Halligan then secured a grand jury indictment, days before the statute of limitations, at his own direction. It is clear that with enough coercion, Trump can get the results he wants, no matter how immoral. There is little preventing him from awarding himself $230 million.
This lawsuit should come as no surprise, as Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself and his family by fleecing his supporters of their money with crypto rug pulls, Trump NFTs and merchandise. Trump’s only priority is himself; he operates purely on spite and self-interest, unmoored by principle or reverence for the office that he defiles. The U.S. Constitution is only collateral damage in Trump’s relentless pursuit of personal glory, and the rights of every American are left endangered.
Moderate Republicans are too afraid to confront his abuses; they risk getting primaried and losing their seats in government. The Democrats — try as they may — have little institutional power to resist Trump in any meaningful way. It is not yet clear what will be left in the wake of Trump’s plundering of public resources should he get his way, but America can ill afford to have its citizens stand idly by as it happens.
If there is one message Americans should take away, it is that every facet of this government — from the city council and state house to Congress and the presidency — is theirs. One must not abdicate their civic duties and be fooled into complacency or disillusionment. Every transgression must be remembered, and every right must be exercised.
