October 23, 2025

President Trump's demand that the Justice Department transfer $230 million to his personal bank account is perhaps the most egregious conflict of interest to emerge in a presidency teeming with them.

It's indeed extremely bad. But what stuck out to me, after Trump openly acknowledged that he is considering the demand, was the president's claim that, if successful, he'd donate the money to "charity."

"I’m not looking for money," Trump told reporters. "I’d give it to charity or something. I would give it to charity, any money."

As I wrote with my colleague Dan Friedman, the remark is risible. The stuff of a con man! Because anyone with the slightest familiarity with this man's record knows that Trump is not to be trusted because his history with charitable giving meets the very definition of dishonorable.

Dan and I revisited that sordid history in a piece here, and I hope you can give it a read. In fact, feel free to share it with the MAGA-supporting family member in your life when they invoke Trump's charity excuse for his Justice Department shakedown!

—Inae Oh

Trump Claims He’d Give His $230 Million Justice Department Grift to Charity. Yeah, Right.

The president, who has a history of reneging on charitable pledges, ran his own family foundation into the ground.

BY INAE OH AND DAN FRIEDMAN

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