WASHINGTON — Amy Powell, Litigation Director at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), and former Senior Trial Counsel at the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Division, issued the following statement in response to reports that Trump is demanding the DOJ pay him $230 million for past cases:
“This demand threatens an unprecedented corruption of the Justice Department’s mission. DOJ attorneys take an oath to the Constitution, not to any president. The idea that the very officials who served as President Trump’s personal defense lawyers would now be positioned to approve taxpayer-funded payments to him, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars for investigations conducted by career professionals following the evidence, is a fundamental betrayal of the rule of law.
“Having spent years as a Senior Trial Counsel at DOJ, I know firsthand that the department’s career attorneys pursue—and resolve—cases based on facts and law, not politics. Senior political officials should recuse themselves from this blatant conflict of interest, and DOJ should reject these frivolous claims. The American people deserve a Justice Department that serves the Constitution, not the president’s personal financial interests.”
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) is a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of 125,000 lawyers, law students, and advocates in the fight for justice. We identify where lawyers can make the greatest impact and mobilize them to defend democracy and the rule of law, protect civil and human rights, and advance environmental justice through coordinated legal action and advocacy efforts that create meaningful change for all Americans.