Requests Seek Public Records on Possible Justice and Treasury Department Payouts and Senior Officials’ Communications With Counsel for Former Senior Aides
Washington, D.C. — Democracy Forward has filed a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), multiple DOJ components, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury seeking records related to potential government-funded payments to and communications regarding two former senior Trump aides—Michael Flynn and Stefan Passantino—amid reports that the Trump-Vance administration is engaged in settlement discussions with both men.
The requests follow explosive reporting that President Trump himself is seeking $230 million in taxpayer funds to compensate him for past federal investigations, which Democracy Forward is also investigating. These suggestions underscore growing ethical, legal, and constitutional concerns about whether public power is being leveraged to financially benefit individuals with deep personal and political ties to the president.
“The American people deserve to know whether the Trump-Vance administration is seeking to use public authority and taxpayer money to benefit politically connected insiders,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “These secret discussions and the possibility of enormous tax-payer funded payments to former officials close to the president raise profound ethical, constitutional, and public-integrity concerns. We will use every legal tool available to ensure the truth comes to light.”
Democracy Forward’s filings request:
- All DOJ and Treasury records of any payments or approved settlement payments to Flynn or Passantino since January 20, 2025, including documents reflecting Treasury or DOJ authorization of settlement funds.
- All communications—emails, texts, messaging-app communications, calendar entries, or summaries of oral conversations—between senior DOJ officials and attorneys representing Flynn or Passantino in connection with their Federal Tort Claims Act demands.
The DOJ officials covered include Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., multiple Associate Deputy Attorneys General, senior Torts Branch officials, and senior officials in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. External communications sought include those with attorneys at Binnall Law Group and Clark Hill representing Flynn and Passantino.
These requests follow concerns, detailed in the requests, about the ethical conflicts raised by President Trump’s personal financial interests, Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s past role as his personal defense lawyer, and the alarming nature of any attempt to use public funds to financially compensate former insiders.
The requests were filed with the DOJ Office of Information Policy, Civil Division, Criminal Division, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Justice Management Division, and with the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service.