PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OWES HIM “A LOT OF MONEY” FOR PRIOR JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATIONS INTO HIS ACTIONS.

HE ALSO HAS INSISTED THAT HE WOULD HAVE THE ULTIMATE SAY ON ANY PAYOUT BECAUSE ANY DECISION WILL “HAVE TO GO ACROSS MY DESK.”

SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"All I know is that, they would owe me a lot of money, but I don't. I'm not looking for money. I'd give it to charity or something. I would give it to charity."

++WHITE FLASH++

SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

“With a country, it's interesting because I'm the one that makes a decision. Right. And, you know, that decision would have to go across my desk. And it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself. In other words, did you ever have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you're paying yourself in damages?"

HIS COMMENTS ARE IN RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ABOUT A NEW YORK TIMES STORY THAT SAID HE HAD FILED CLAIMS BEFORE BEING REELECTED SEEKING ROUGHLY $230 MILLION.

ONE OF THE CLAIMS SEEKS COMPENSATORY AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES OVER THE SEARCH OF HIS MAR-A-LAGO ESTATE AND THE RESULTING CASE ALLEGING HE HOARDED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS AND THWARTED GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO RETRIEVE THEM.

THE TIMES SAID THE OTHER CLAIM SEEKS DAMAGES RELATED TO THE LONG-CONCLUDED INVESTIGATION INTO POTENTIAL TIES BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TRUMP'S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.

THE STATUS OF THE CLAIMS AND ANY NEGOTIATIONS OVER THEM WITHIN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR.