House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had a funny reaction to the news that President Donald Trump wants the Department of Justice to give him $230 million for the money he spent defending himself against federal criminal probes and charges.
He acted like it was a completely normal request.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump has filed administrative complaints against the DOJ over the investigations for 2016 Russian interference claims and for mishandled classified information.
Trump pretty much admitted to reporters that the cash grab was legit.
“Well, I guess they probably owe me a lot of money for that,” he said on Tuesday hours after the Times story broke. “Probably, yeah, that’s true. That’s very interesting. No, I get no salary. I gave up my salary. It’s a good salary.”
Anyone hoping that the House speaker would speak out against paying Trump the sum was probably disappointed by his reaction when asked about it on Tuesday.
First, Johnson acted like he was unfamiliar with the news. Then he tried to minimize the potential effects of what would be, as one expert called it, the “most corrupt act in presidential history.”
“Uh, I don’t know the details about that. I just read it. I didn’t talk with him about that,” he said. “I know he believes he’s owed that reimbursement.”
Johnson then contradicted his professed lack of knowledge on the proposed payout by noting that “what I heard yesterday was if he receives it, he was gonna consider giving it to charity, he doesn’t need those proceeds.”
It should be noted that Trump has a sketchy history when it comes to charitable giving. In fact, he had to shut down the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2018 after accusations he was using the charity to serve his business and political interests.
Johnson then changed the subject to the reaction over bulldozers tearing down the White House’s East Wing to make way for a massive ballroom.
Although Johnson seems to be OK with giving Trump taxpayer dollars, the proposed shakedown, er, deal was condemned by North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, and former Trump campaign adviser David Urban said the use of taxpayer money is “not something that you want to see.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misattributed a quote said by David Urban.