Former President Donald Trump is at it again. His attorney has just filed a legal notice announcing that Trump plans to sue the Justice Department and the FBI for a whopping $115 million. The basis of this lawsuit? Alleged “malicious political prosecution” and “abuse of process.” Now, let’s be clear: this is a baseless accusation, a familiar refrain from Trump’s playbook. He’s been spouting this rhetoric online and during campaign events, trying to convince his followers that he’s the target of some grand conspiracy to prevent him from being re-elected.
The notice, signed by Trump’s attorney Daniel Z. Epstein—who, by the way, is a former Trump White House lawyer and now a vice president at America First Legal, the legal group founded by none other than Stephen Miller—accuses the DOJ leadership and special counsel Jack Smith of orchestrating a “malicious political prosecution.” According to the filing, this supposed persecution has cost Trump tens of millions of dollars in legal fees and damaged his reputation.
But here’s the kicker. This lawsuit takes aim at the FBI’s court-approved search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022, where agents found scores of sensitive classified documents that Trump had failed to return. Trump’s legal team is now claiming that this search was improper and violated “well-established protocol” for handling former presidents. And if that sounds familiar, it’s because Trump himself has been saying for months that the government could have had those records “anytime they wanted.” All they had to do was ask, he claims.
But let’s not forget the reality here. The National Archives and the Justice Department repeatedly requested that Trump return those records. They even issued a subpoena in May 2022, and Trump’s own attorney signed a declaration stating that all the documents had been returned. It was only after investigators discovered they had been misled that the search warrant was executed. Yet Trump wants us to believe that he’s the victim here.
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This lawsuit, which was first reported by—you guessed it—Fox News, argues that the DOJ’s actions were “unconstitutional.” It’s a narrative that fits neatly into Trump’s broader campaign of undermining trust in our institutions, of casting doubt on the very foundations of our democracy.
Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, is already spinning this as part of Trump’s fight against the so-called “weaponized Department of Justice.” He even claims that the criminal case against Trump should be dismissed to “bring unity back to our Nation.” Unity? From a man who has spent years sowing division, spreading lies, and attacking anyone who dares to hold him accountable?
It’s being reported that Trump is seeking between $115 million in punitive damages on top of the $15 million he claims in legal costs. This is the same man whose attorneys argue in the appeal of the E. Jean Carroll defamation case that the punitive damages there—$83 million—should be reduced because they’re too high. But now, Trump wants over six times the amount of compensatory damages in this case. It’s a blatant double standard, but what else would we expect from Donald Trump?
Finally, the timing of this filing is no accident. It was signed just one day before the two-year anniversary of the Mar-a-Lago search. Trump is a master of manipulating the narrative, of using the legal system as a tool for his own self-promotion. But here’s the question we should all be asking: What happens if Trump is re-elected? Will he use the power of the presidency to direct the Justice Department to pay him the $115 million he’s demanding? It’s a chilling thought and one that should give every American pause.
So here we are—yet another chapter in the never-ending Trump drama, where the former president is once again trying to twist the facts, rewrite history, and paint himself as the victim. But as always, the real story is about power, manipulation, and a dangerous disregard for the truth.
Featured Image Via Political Tribune Gallery
