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WASHINGTON - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan stood by President Donald Trump’s demand for compensation from the Justice Department in a Wednesday interview, citing what he called unprecedented “lawfare” against the president. Appearing on Fox News, the Republican from Ohio’s Champaign County was asked about Trump’s administrative claims seeking about $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for federal investigations conducted while he was out of office. According to The New York Times, Trump submitted complaints through an administrative process that could precede lawsuits, with claims dating back to late 2023. “Well, we’ll see. What you know, what happens with the DOJ? What may happen if it goes to court?” Jordan said when asked about Trump’s pursuit of the money. “What I do know is no one has been harassed by the lawfare, by the Justice Department like President Trump.” Jordan’s defense of Trump’s financial claims comes after his committee spent the past several years investigating President Biden for alleged improprieties, including matters related to his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings and classified documents found at Biden’s former office and residence. Jordan was one of Trump’s strongest congressional allies during his first presidential administration and vigorously defended him from impeachment efforts. Days before the end of his first term, Trump awarded Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in a private White House ceremony. In his Fox News appearance, the Ohio congressman outlined what he described as a decade-long pattern of investigations targeting Trump, saying: “I mean, you can go all the way back to 10 years ago, when they were spying on his campaign.” When asked at the White House about the potential compensation on Tuesday, Trump said: “I was damaged very greatly and any money I would get, I would give to charity.” “I’m the one that makes the decision and that decision would have to go across my desk and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself,” Trump continued. According to The Times, Trump’s first claim seeks damages for the FBI and special counsel investigation into Russian election interference and possible connections to his 2016 campaign. A second complaint filed in summer 2024 accuses the FBI of violating his privacy by searching Mar-a-Lago in 2022 for classified documents. The situation presents unusual ethical questions, as Trump’s former defense attorneys now hold senior Justice Department positions that would typically approve such payouts. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche served as Trump’s lead criminal defense lawyer, and the head of the department’s civil division, Stanley Woodward Jr., represented Trump’s co-defendant in the classified documents case. Jordan told Fox News the president had endured harassment “we’ve never seen” from what he called the “weaponization” of federal law enforcement. “We’ve never seen lawfare and weaponization like we did with what the left did when they went after President Trump,” he said. Ethics experts told the Times the situation has no parallel in U.S. history. Pace University ethics professor Bennett L. Gershman told the Times the situation is a “travesty.” “The ethical conflict is just so basic and fundamental, you don’t need a law professor to explain it,” said Gershman. He added: “And then to have people in the Justice Department decide whether his claim should be successful or not, and these are the people who serve him deciding whether he wins or loses. It’s bizarre and almost too outlandish to believe.”
