RELEASE: Ranking Member Raskin Launches Investigation Into $1.25 Million Taxpayer Payout for Disgraced Former Trump Official Michael Flynn

Washington, D.C. (April 6, 2026)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) provide all relevant documents and information regarding the decision to funnel $1.25 million of taxpayer money to Michael Flynn, a longtime Trump loyalist and disgraced former National Security Adviser, in a blatant and unlawful abuse of public trust.

“The American people are watching this Department squander their tax dollars, handing over giant sums to the President’s friends for claims that multiple federal judges have rejected as having no legal merit. The American people deserve a full accounting of why our tax dollars are being used that way,” Ranking Member Raskin wrote.

In December 2017, during the first Trump Administration, Mr. Flynn—who had been fired as National Security Adviser—pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about conversations he had with the Russian Ambassador, and repeatedly affirmed his guilt under oath. Two years later, he attempted to withdraw his guilty pleas and reverse his conviction through baseless allegations of entrapment and prosecutorial misconduct—claims that a federal judge summarily rejected. Following an extraordinary intervention by Attorney General William Barr and a subsequent presidential pardon, however, Mr. Flynn launched a retributive rampage.

His 2023 attempt to extract $50 million in damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for “malicious prosecution” was deemed legally meritless by a second federal judge, who warned him that his arguments were nearly frivolous enough to warrant sanctions.

The second Trump Administration has now bypassed the rule of law to greenlight a brazen settlement—paid out of the taxpayer-funded Judgment Fund—for a convicted loyalist who admitted to lying to the FBI. Mr. Flynn’s case serves as a chilling preview of the Administration’s broader strategy to weaponize the federal government for personal enrichment. Donald Trump himself has previously demanded that his political appointees use the Judgment Fund to pay him more than $10 billion—$230 million for claims against the DOJ, and $10 billion for claims against the IRS.

DOJ’s decision to siphon taxpayer funds into the pockets of a prominent political ally is an act of collusion that defies both federal law and longstanding Supreme Court precedent. This extraordinary payout mirrors the elements of a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States and is an intentional conversion of public funds for private, political gain.

Ranking Member Raskin is demanding that Acting Attorney General Blanche provide all relevant materials, including records and communications, regarding DOJ’s unilateral decision to award this notorious Trump loyalist with a $1.25 million taxpayer-funded payout.

Click here to read the letter.