CREW has requested documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in relation to Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claims that were submitted by people who received a pardon or commutation from President Trump, including January 6 defendants. In addition, CREW is requesting DOJ records related to any FTCA claims filed by President Trump, including claims in which he reportedly is seeking $230 million in damages for purported violations of his rights in the course of investigating his potentially criminal conduct. 

The FTCA allows individuals to sue the federal government for money damages to compensate for harms caused by government activity, though individuals must first file an administrative claim for damages with the relevant agency. 

At least five prominent January 6 pardon recipients have filed lawsuits against the government. Recent reporting also indicates that former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was also pardoned by Trump, is in talks with the DOJ to settle a $50 million FTCA claim arising from the Department’s investigation and prosecution of Flynn during Trump’s first term. The existence of these claims raises the possibility that additional January 6 defendants and Trump pardon recipients may have also filed FTCA administrative claims seeking damages for the government’s conduct while they were prosecuted. 

The public deserves to know whether additional pardon recipients have now filed FTCA claims seeking taxpayer-funded compensation for the prosecutions arising from their alleged or actual misconduct, including the Jan. 6 attackers who sought to take away the rights of the American people by trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Transparency about these claims is essential to ensure that public funding is not quietly redirected toward individuals who have already imposed substantial costs on the American people but avoided full accountability because of their personal, professional or financial connections to President Trump.

Additionally, President Trump’s multiple FTCA claims present potential conflicts of interest and call into question the DOJ’s ability to impartially adjudicate his claims. President Trump’s appointment of his former personal attorneys, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, to DOJ leadership and his attempts to improperly influence the Department of Justice underscore public concerns about corruption within the executive branch and the erosion of DOJ independence. 

The requested records will help the American people understand President Trump’s claims and the process through which they will be reviewed so that they can evaluate how effectively the DOJ is adhering to its commitment to “following the facts and the law wherever they may lead, without prejudice or improper influence.”

FOIA requests

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