Trump demanding money from companies and his own government while president Case Disney/ABC News settled Trump's defamation suit (over anchor George Stephanopoulos's characterization of the E. Jean Carroll civil verdict) for $15 million to Trump's presidential library plus $1 million in legal fees, i Media and tech settlements funding Trump's presidential library Disney/ABC News settled Trump's defamation suit (over anchor George Stephanopoulos's characterization of the E. Jean Carroll civil verdict) for $15 million to Trump's presidential library plus $1 million in legal fees, in December 2024, before Trump took office. Paramount (CBS's parent company) settled Trump's lawsuit over a '60 Minutes' interview edit for $16 million to the library on July 2, 2025 - while Trump was president and while Paramount separately needed FCC approval, under newly installed Republican Chairman Brendan Carr, for its sale to Skydance Media. The merger was approved roughly three weeks after the settlement. Trump publicly celebrated the CBS payout and suggested he could receive an additional $20 million from Skydance. Meta separately paid $25 million to resolve a suit over Trump's removal from Facebook after January 6 - a case outside lawyers said was weaker for Trump than the ABC case, yet still settled. A CBS analysis found Trump's presidential library had received approximately $63 million through settlements with Paramount, ABC, Meta, and X combined by mid-2025; a separate report found he received a collective $59 million from YouTube's and other tech companies' parent companies, and that his 2025 media/tech settlements totaled roughly $86 million. Reporting separately noted a broader $2.2 billion windfall tied to his business interests in 2025. Seeking $230 million+ in damages from his own DOJ While out of office in 2023 and 2024, Trump filed two administrative claims (a legal precursor to suing the government) against the DOJ under the Federal Tort Claims Act: one over the 2016 Russia investigation, one over the 2022 Mar-a-Lago classified documents search, together seeking roughly $230 million ($115M+ each, including punitive damages). As president, Trump would be the one whose administration decides whether to pay out his own claims - CNN and PBS both noted the conflict of interest, since DOJ officials who would need to approve any settlement previously served as his personal defense attorneys or represented his allies. In October 2025, Trump discussed the matter in the Oval Office alongside AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, saying: 'I have a lawsuit that was doing very well. And when I became president, I said: I'm sort of suing myself... How do you settle the lawsuit? I'll say: Give me X dollars, right?' He said any payout would go to charity. In a later speech, he inflated the figure to $1 billion, saying 'I hereby give myself $1B.' As of late 2025, there is no public confirmation the claims have been paid; the DOJ is not required to publicly announce settlements of administrative claims of this kind. Note The companies say they settled to end costly litigation, and whether DOJ will pay Trump's personal claims is unresolved. Sources [1] NPR (https://www.npr.org/2025/07/02/nx-s1-5454790/cbs-settlement-trump-60-minutes-harris-interview-analysis) [2] Axios (https://www.axios.com/2025/10/21/trump-justice-department-payment-investigations) [3] Yahoo/HuffPost (https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-brags-demanding-own-government-221248950.html) [4] Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/07/22/trump-celebrates-16-million-60-minutes-settlement-and-suggests-hell-get-another-20-million-too/) [5] Marketplace (https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/08/22/where-is-trumps-award-settlement-money-going) [6] MS NOW (https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-media-tech-settlements-defamation-lawsuits-86-million) [7] CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/22/politics/trump-doj-request-230-mil-explained) [8] PBS (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-says-the-government-owes-him-a-lot-of-money-over-federal-probes-heres-how-he-could-be-paid) Connections Related — Author's working thesis (not a sourced finding) Media settlements cited among the 'density of self-dealing across unrelated domains.' Related — Contracts and payments to Trump allies: documented cases and the open question of no-work retainers (2025–2026) Both concern money moving between the administration, allies and companies; this entry covers contracts and payments, the other covers demands for money. Related — Synthesis: does Trump's own conduct normalize self-dealing by others? Media settlements funding the presidential library cited as a well-documented instance of proximity-for-gain. Related — The $1 billion ask: fossil-fuel money into Trump's campaign and inauguration Shared mechanism: soliciting money from companies with business before the government. Related — Trump's crypto ventures ($TRUMP, World Liberty Financial, USD1) and the Binance founder's pardon (2025-2026) Both concern money flowing to Trump or his family businesses from people and companies with interests before the administration. Same actor — Trump's documented statements degrading and objectifying women The ABC/Disney settlement stemmed from Trump's defamation suit over characterization of the Carroll verdict. Related — White House East Wing demolition and ballroom private financing Both are direct examples of private/corporate money flowing toward Trump-linked projects while he holds office.