Richard Blumenthal

President Donald Trump told reporters during a Diwali celebration in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, that if the Department of Justice compensates him, he’ll donate the money to charity. Photo by Allison Robbert/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 22 (UPI) — House Democrats are launching a probe of allegations that President Donald Trump is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from the Justice Department in compensation for investigations conducted against him before he won a second term .

House Judiciary Committee Democrats announced in a statement Tuesday that ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was launching an investigation into the president’s “shakedown of taxpayers.”

The announcement of the investigation was announced in response to a New York Times report that said Trump is demanding the Justice Department pay him some $230 million in compensation.

Trump submitted at least two administrative complaints, the first in 2023 and the second in 2024, seeking compensation, ABC News also reported.

The first administrative claim seeks damages for purported violations of his rights in connection with the investigation into alleged ties between his 2016 election campaign and Russia.

The second seeks claims over allegations is in connection with the August 2022 FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago residence and subsequent investigation and prosecution on charges that he mishandled classified documents after he left office following the completion of his first term.

Asked about the reports during a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he wasn’t aware of the amount being sought but stated he should be compensated.

“I was damaged very greatly and any money I would get, I would give to charity,” he said.

Trump also acknowledged the unprecedented nature and potential ethical issues, stating “I’m the one who makes the decision.”

“And that decision would have to go cross my desk and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself,” he said.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats chastised Trump, accusing him of “robbing America blind.”

“This is exactly why the Constitution forbids the president from taking any more from the government outside of his official salary,” they said in a statement. “This is Donald Trump First, America Last — the Gangster State at work, billionaires shaking down the people.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., described it as Trump “extorting his own Justice Department” and as “unprecedented, unfathomable corruption.”

“Eye watering conflicts of interests,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement. “More corrupt self enrichment.”

Oct. 7 (UPI) — Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, and refused to answer questions on several topics.

Bondi declined to answer questions about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey regarding her discussions with President Donald Trump as well as the firings of Department of Justice attorneys who worked on Jan. 6 cases and her refusal to prosecute certain cases of Trump’s allies.

Bondi also avoided questions about the files of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Trump’s alleged friendship with him. She responded that the Democrats should explain their own relationships with him, CNN reported.

Sen Richard Blumenthal, D-N.Y., said Bondi’s testimony was a new low for attorneys general.

“Her apparent strategy is to attack and conceal. Frankly, I’ve been through close to 15 of these attorney general accountability hearings, and I have never seen anything close to it in terms of the combativeness, the evasiveness and sometimes deceptiveness,” Blumenthal told reporters after leaving the hearing. “I think it is possibly a new low for attorneys general testifying before the United States Congress, and I just hope my Republican colleagues will demand more accountability than what we have seen so far.”

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., agreed with Blumenthal.

“She was fully prepared for, with specific and personal comebacks, accusing various of my colleagues, of challenging their integrity or challenging their basis for their questions in a way I’ve not ever seen,” Coons said.

The White House has already praised Bondi’s performance.

“She’s doing great,” a White House official told CNN. “Not only is the AG debunking every single bogus Democrat talking point, but she’s highlighting the Democrats’ own hypocrisy and they have no response.”

Bondi, along with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, criticized the judge in the case of Sophie Roske, the woman who planned an attack on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Roske, who called the police on herself before making contact with Kavanaugh, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the plot.

“My prosecutors did an incredible job on that case,” Bondi said. She said the Justice Department would appeal the sentence, which was 22 years below the federal guidelines and the minimum sentence prosecutors wanted. “The judge also would not refer to the defendant by his biological name,” Bondi said. Roske is transgender.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Bondi what conversations she has had with the White House about investigations into Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Comey. Bondi again declined to answer.

“I’m not going to discuss any conversations,” Bondi said to Klobuchar, CBS News reported.

Klobuchar asked her about a Truth Social post by Trump last in which he asked Bondi why she hadn’t brought charges against Comey, Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“President Trump is the most transparent president in American history, and I don’t think he said anything that he hasn’t said for years,” Bondi said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., pressed her on whether the FBI found any pictures of Trump “with half-naked young women,” saying that Epstein was reported to have shown them around.

“You know, Sen. Whitehouse? You sit here and make salacious remarks, once again, trying to slander President Trump, left and right, when you’re the one who was taking money from one of Epstein’s closest confidants,” Bondi responded, referring to tech entrepreneur and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who has said he regretted his contacts with Epstein, CBS reported.

Since Bondi took over at the Justice Department, she and her team have fired prosecutors who worked on capitol riot cases and pushed out career FBI agents.

The Public Integrity Section is nearly empty now, and more than 70% of the lawyers in the Civil Rights Division are also gone, NPR reported.

In a letter Monday, nearly 300 former Justice Department employees asked the Oversight Committee to closely monitor the department.

“We call on Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities far more vigorously. Members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle must provide a meaningful check on the abuses we’re witnessing,” the letter said.

The letter also alleged poor treatment of staff.

“As for its treatment of its employees, the current leadership’s behavior has been appalling. … And demonizing, firing, demoting, involuntarily transferring, and directing employees to violate their ethical duties has already caused an exodus of over 5,000 of us — draining the Department of priceless institutional knowledge and expertise, and impairing its historical success in recruiting top talent. We may feel the effects of this for generations.”

Bondi said the DOJ stands by the “many terminations” in the department since Trump took office. “We stand by all of those,” she said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in an opening statement, “What has taken place since Jan. 20, 2025, would make even President Nixon recoil.”

Durbin said Bondi has left “an enormous stain in American history.”

“It will take decades to recover,” he said.

The hearing is just two weeks after she sought and secured an indictment of Comey at the direction of the president. Democrats have said she’s weaponizing the Department of Justice, breaking with the longstanding tradition of keeping the department independent of political goals.

Comey was indicted on one count each of lying to Congress and obstructing justice for his testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020. Before the indictment, U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert refused to indict because of a lack of evidence against Comey. Trump accused him of waiting too long to indict and nearly allowing the statute of limitations to run out. Siebert resigned under pressure from the administration.

Last week, Durbin said the targeting of Trump’s political enemies is “a code-red alarm for the rule of law” in a floor speech, The Washington Post reported.

“Never in the history of our country has a president so brazenly demanded the baseless prosecution of his rivals,” he said. “And he doesn’t even try to hide it.”

But Republicans claim that Bondi’s leadership is necessary after years of what they say was politicized attacks from the Justice Department under the President Joe Biden administration.

“If the facts and the evidence support the finding that Comey lied to Congress and obstructed our work, he ought to be held accountable,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Judiciary Committee.

During her confirmation hearing, Bondi vowed that weaponization of the Justice Department is over.

“I will not politicize that office,” Bondi said at the time. “I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Friday to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine and sanctions pressure on Russia. The senators are participating in the Ukraine Recovery Conference and in the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. Their participation marked the first time representatives of the United States attended a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. Photo via Ukrainian Presidential Press Office | License Photo

July 11 (UPI) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on Friday.

The meeting, called the Coalition of the Willing, also was attended by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg.

Zelenskyy said that strengthening Ukraine’s air defense is a top priority.

Ukrainian intelligence says Russia plans to launch attacks with up to 1,000 drones at a time. Ukraine’s defense against these attacks are interceptor drones, but there must be more investment in their production, according to a statement from Zelensky. He also said Ukraine is ready to purchase a large defense package from the United States.

To prevent Russia’s ongoing attacks, Zelensky said there needs to be more sanctions against Russia. Graham and Blumenthal discussed a bill they are sponsoring that addresses that.

“We also touched on the bill introduced by Senators Graham and Blumenthal regarding additional restrictive measures against Russia and those supporting its war effort,” Zelensky said on X. “Without a doubt, this is exactly the kind of leverage that can bring peace closer and make sure diplomacy is not empty.”

Blumenthal added that other nations at the conference were supportive of the bill.

“Deeply inspired & energized by strong solidarity among European heads of state — hearing from Sen. Graham & me about our Russia Sanctions bill at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome,” he said on X. “Powerful commitment to Ukraine’s cause & our legislation.”

He hinted that the sanctions would hurt Russia-supporting nations.

“Momentum building for our Russia Sanctions bill, shown by repeated statements of support from heads of state in Rome at the Ukraine Recovery Conference,” he tweeted. “Bone crushing sanctions should help halt China, India & Brazil from fueling Russia’s war machine by buying its oil & gas.”

In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks, launching record numbers of drones at Kyiv and other civilian targets. The United States has begun sending arms to Ukraine after a pause.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference is a two-day event focused on building political and private-sector support for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

June 4 (UPI) — Ukrainian officials were set to update U.S. senators on Wednesday on the war and discuss arms purchases and efforts to pressure Russia to negotiate a peace deal, including a tough new bipartisan sanctions bill due to come to the floor of the upper chamber next week.

The delegation, which included Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, Deputy Defense Minister Serhii Boyev and Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, arrived Tuesday, a day after a second round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey broke up without a breakthrough.

Yermak said in a social media post that the delegation was bringing a “comprehensive agenda” of issues that were important to Ukraine to actively promote to members of both parties and President Donald Trump‘s team.

“We plan to talk about defense support and the situation on the battlefield, strengthening sanctions against Russia, including Senator [Lindsey] Graham’s bill. We will also discuss the Agreement on the Establishment of the Reconstruction Investment Fund, which we signed earlier,” wrote Yermak.

He said the delegation would also raise the issue of getting back Ukrainian children deported by Russia and support for the process.

The bill that Sen. Graham, R-S.C., plans to introduce in the Senate aims to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia, targeting its trade partners by slapping 500% tariffs on imports from countries that continue to purchase Russian products, including gas, oil and uranium.

China and India are the two biggest markets for Russian energy exports.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Politico that he and Graham would host a closed-door meeting with the Ukrainians on Capitol Hill to which all Senators had been invited.

He said support for the sanctions bill was gaining very strong momentum with 82 members of the Senate split down the middle of the aisle agreeing to co-sponsor it.

Blumenthal said the secondary sanctions could be a “game changer.”

“It’s a pivotal moment in Ukraine — and crunch time for the Senate on this bill.”

He also pushed back on what he said was a growing but false belief that Ukraine was losing the war, saying recent offensive assaults deep into Russian territory, such as Sunday’s so-called “Operation Spiderweb,” in which Ukrainian drones destroyed 41 strategic Russian bomber aircraft, proved otherwise.

Blumenthal argued that such feats could help shift the dial among the administration’s foreign policy team, helping persuade them to bolster military and other assistance for Ukraine and to support the sanctions bill.

That in turn would help overcome the reservations of some lawmakers, he said.

“Events will move the White House — and maybe some of the president’s friends here [Capitol Hill]. Congress can move ahead. [Trump] doesn’t have to support it.”

Current U.S. flows of arms and equipment to Ukraine are all under drawdowns on assistance packages approved under former President Joe Biden, with no fresh approvals since as the Trump administration shifts to a more mercantile approach under which Ukraine will buy the weapons rather than receiving them as aid.

May 23 (UPI) — Boeing has avoided prosecution over two crashes of 737 Max planes that killed 346 people, but must pay $1.1 billion in a settlement reached with the U.S. Justice Department.

The aerospace company won’t face a trial as scheduled next month, ABC News reported.

Last week, DOJ officials met with crash victims’ family members, many of whom want the company to go to trial, about the agreement, according to CNBC.

The company, as part of the agreement, must pay $444.5 million for a new fund for crash victims. The eight-page agreement filed Friday was obtained by Flying magazine.

Paul Cassell, a lawyer representing some of the families, said in a statement he hopes U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor rejects the deal.

“This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history,” Cassell said. “My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it.”

DOJ noted relatives of more than 110 crash victims said they support the non-prosecution agreement or “support the Department’s efforts to resolve the case pre-trial more generally.”

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut sent a letter Friday to Attorney General Pam Bond urging her agency not to cut a deal and “to hold Boeing and any responsible executives accountable for their role in the 2018 Lion Air and the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crashes, which killed a total of 346 passengers.”

The DOJ said it intends to file a motion to dismiss the case once the “agreement in principle” is finalized, by no later than the end of next week.

“It is the Government’s judgment that the Agreement is a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest,” the DOJ said in the filing in the North District of Texas in Fort Worth. “The Agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial.”

In the agreement, Boeing “will admit to conspiracy to obstruct and impede the lawful operation of the Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Evaluation Group.

Also, the aerospace company, besides the fund for victims, must pay a $487.2 million criminal fine, though $243.6 million it already paid in an earlier agreement; $444.5 million for a new fund for crash victims; and $445 million more on compliance, safety and quality programs.

On Oct. 29, 2018, the first crash in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed all 189 passengers and crew. Black box data from the Lion Air jet showed the pilots struggled to fight the plane’s malfunctioning safety system from takeoff to the moment it nose-dived into the water.

In the second crash four months later on March 10, 2019, 157 people died when a Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crashed minutes after takeoff in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Maxes were grounded for nearly two years after the second crash.

In 2021 during the first Trump administration, Boeing agreed to a $2.51 billion fine to avoid prosecution.

It was set to expire two days after a door panel blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, 2024. The aircraft left Boeing’s factory without key bolts installed.

In 2024, U.S. prosecutors said Boeing violated the settlement because the company failed to set up and enforce a compliance and ethics program to detect violations of U.S. fraud laws.

Then Boeing agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud last December. O’Connor determined the government’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies was a factor in the selection of an independent compliance monitor for Boeing. The company had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay a fine of at least $243 million besides that same amount paid earlier.

In 2022, a Boeing former chief technical pilot was acquitted on fraud charges tied to the Max’s development.