Judiciary Democrats Expand Probe, Demand DOJ Officials Reject President’s Corrupt Demand for $230 Million Payout

Washington, D.C. (October 28, 2025)— Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward demanding that they immediately reject President Donald Trump’s flagrantly unconstitutional demand that the Department of Justice (DOJ) secretly approve a $230 million payment funded by American taxpayers for his personal benefit.

“President Trump has described a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional effort to steal $230 million from the American people. As the senior Department of Justice (DOJ) officials who would be responsible for approving that shakedown, you each face a choice: uphold your constitutional oath and refuse this flagrantly illegal demand, or become complicit in perhaps the most brazen violation of the Constitution’s anti-corruption provisions in American history,” wrote the Members.

Last week, Trump described a brazenly illegal scheme to have his political appointees in the DOJ approve meritless administrative claims he filed before taking office and direct the U.S. Treasury to cut the President a $230 million check funded by taxpayers.

Two of the officials positioned to approve these claims—Deputy Attorney General Blanche and Associate Attorney General Woodward—previously served on Trump’s criminal defense team in the very matters for which he now seeks compensation. Blanche was Trump’s lead attorney in both the classified documents case and the January 6 election interference case, while Woodward represented Trump’s co-defendant Waltine Nauta and was paid by Trump’s political action committee (PAC).

Trump’s claims against DOJ are legally baseless and his plan to have his political lackeys approve this payment is plainly violative of the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause, which categorically prohibits the President from receiving any payment from the federal government beyond his fixed annual salary. Further, his own former lawyers—now serving as the top leadership of the DOJ—clearly have an unwaivable ethical conflict. Blanche and Woodward must immediately recuse themselves from their current and former boss’s demand for a $230 million payout from DOJ. 

The Members noted that each of the senior DOJ officials has taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Agreeing to the President’s demands would not only violate that oath, it would constitute aiding and abetting an unconstitutional and unlawful scheme to use taxpayer funds to enrich the President.  Doing so could expose these officials to civil liability, ethics investigations, professional discipline, and potential criminal liability for conspiracy to defraud the United States. 

“You have an independent obligation to uphold the Constitution. In the face of this outlandish assault from the President of the United States, you have a duty to immediately and publicly announce that the Department will not approve any payments to President Trump based on these administrative claims,” concluded the Members.

Judiciary Democrats also pressed the Department to produce all documents and communications related to Trump’s administrative claims, including DOJ’s internal assessments of their legality and any ethical or constitutional concerns raised by Department officials. 

Today’s letter is the latest step in Judiciary Democrats’ expanding investigation into Trump’s illegal scheme. Ranking Member Raskin and Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia sent a letter to President Trump on October 23 demanding that Trump turn over any documents, legal analysis, or communications between him and any White House or DOJ official regarding his plan to rob American taxpayers.

Click here to read the letter.

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