In an article for The Hill published Tuesday, attorney A. Scott Bolden argued that President Donald Trump has turned his presidency into a “giant ATM,” using the power of his office to enrich himself and his family while seeking massive payouts from the federal government.
"President Trump has turned his office into a giant ATM, providing him and his family with billions of dollars," the article read.
Bolden pointed to a recent New York Times report that Trump is demanding roughly $230 million from U.S. taxpayers to settle his claims that the Justice Department (DOJ) wrongfully investigated him. The writer called this move an "unethical money grab."
Trump first filed the demand during the Biden administration, using a government form typically meant for people seeking compensation for personal injury or property damage.
Bolden called the claim “absurd,” noting there is no evidence that the DOJ or FBI acted improperly when investigating Trump’s 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia or conducting the court-approved search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.
Citing Forbes data, Bolden reported that the Trump family’s wealth has nearly doubled since Trump’s return to the White House, rising to an estimated $10 billion.
Trump’s own fortune, he noted, grew by $3 billion in the past year alone – a 70 percent increase. Bolden argued that such financial gains “would not have come to Trump and his family if he were not president,” highlighting that before taking office, Trump had filed for business bankruptcy six times.
The piece also warned that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense lawyer and a loyalist, could approve Trump’s $230 million claim, a move Bolden said would represent a “blatant and unethical conflict of interest.”
Trump has said he would donate any settlement money to charity, but Bolden expressed deep skepticism, pointing to past instances where Trump exaggerated or misused charitable contributions.
Concluding that Trump continues to put personal profit above public service, Bolden wrote that the president has ignored the patriotic standard set by President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”