President Donald Trump’s plan to get the Department of Justice to reimburse him for legal costs and damages, to the tune of $230 million, because he feels he was criminally pursued as part of a bogus investigation could be derailed by one of his biggest supporters.
Last week, the president floated the idea that he should be reimbursed millions because he was investigated by the DOJ over both evidence that Russia helped him get elected in 2016 as well as the search of his Mar-a-Lago resort to reclaim stolen government documents.
"Mr. Trump submitted complaints through an administrative claim process that often is the precursor to lawsuits,” reported the the New York Times. “The situation has no parallel in American history, as Mr. Trump, a presidential candidate, was pursued by federal law enforcement and eventually won the election, taking over the very government that must now review his claims.”
According to former U.S Attorney Joyce Vance, the whole process could be derailed with the DOJ and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan’s pursuit of former special counsel Jack Smith.
As she noted on her Substack platform, the Ohio Republican wants to grill Smith, and the former special counsel said through his lawyers that he would, but only if his testimony was in a public forum so he could discuss the alleged criminal actions he uncovered.
Sharing a screenshot of the letter Smith’s lawyers, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski of the Covington & Burling law firm, submitted to the House committee, Joyce pointed out, “The law firm Covington & Burling, which was sanctioned by Trump for representing Smith, continues to do so. House Republicans should be careful of what they ask for.”
She then added, “with Trump’s demand for $230 million as damages for a supposed wrongful prosecution on the table, this is the time to air Smith’s evidence against Trump.”
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