Trump Wants Biden-Era Prosecution Damages From DOJ, Ballroom Outrage, Antifa Update: AM Update 10/23

0:02Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Thursday, October 23rd, 2025. And this is your AM update. All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money. President Trump seeking hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate him for the lawfare by President Biden's DOJ, as critics cry foul over potential conflicts of interest. Donald Trump wants to be a king. Just look at what he's doing right now to the White House. Construction begins on the new White House ballroom and the press is not happy. A shocking look inside an Antifa safe house in Portland, leading to homophobic slurs directed at an independent journalist.

0:41And Paris prosecutors announced the arrest of a museum thief, but not that museum thief. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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1:34They work with like-minded physicians across the country who review every order and provide prescriptions when appropriate. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they are offering 40 % off Mabendazole when you order this month with the code PINK40. Visit allfamilypharmacy.com, allfamilypharmacy.com slash Megan to learn more. And remember to use code PINK40 by October 31st to save on Mabendazole. President Trump responding to a New York Times report that he is seeking about$230 million in damages from the DOJ he now oversees as a result of the lawfare against him. An unprecedented situation, any settlement reached between Mr.

2:20Trump and the DOJ may have to be approved by his own top DOJ officials who represented him in a personal capacity. At issue, two administrative complaints submitted to the DOJ, the first step in seeking damages. If no settlement is reached, the next step could be a lawsuit. According to The Times, both claims filed prior to Mr. Trump's return to office. The first, submitted in 2023, reportedly, quote, seeks damages for a number of purported violations of his rights, including the FBI and special counsel investigation into Russian election tampering and possible connections to the 2016 Trump campaign.

2:58The second complaint, filed in 2024, relates to the FBI's 2022 search of Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and club for classified documents and accuses the DOJ of malicious prosecution. From the complaint obtained by the Times, quote, Attorney General Garland, FBI Director Wray, and Special Counsel Smith's targeting indictment and harassment of President Trump has always been malicious political prosecution aimed at affecting an electoral outcome to prevent President Trump from being reelected. It continues, quote, this malicious prosecution led President Trump to spend tens of millions of dollars defending the case and his reputation.

3:39Mr. Trump responding to the report on Tuesday from the Oval. Is that something you want your legal team to do? I don't know what the numbers are. I don't even talk to them about it. All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money, but I'm not looking for money. I'd give it to charity or something, I would give it to charity. Now, with the country, it's interesting because I'm the one that makes the 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?

4:12But I was damaged very greatly. And any money that I would get, I would give to charity. Any settlements must be approved by the deputy attorney general or the associate attorney General. Funds are paid out with taxpayer dollars. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche served as President Trump's lead defense lawyer in multiple criminal cases before Mr. Trump won re-election. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who represented Trump co-defendant Walt Nada in the Mar-a-Lago case, has also represented several Trump officials in January 6th related investigations, including current FBI Director Cash Patel.

4:48This set up raising questions about conflicts of interest and setting off a firestorm among the left and establishment media. The conflict of interest is just so obvious and egregious. I don't think there would be any way it could be worked out in an ethical way. The victim is the American people. They are the ones who will be out the$230 million. It is a blatant grift. It's an ethics scandal. We are combining the weaponization of the Department of Justice with his grift and corruption to make money off of the presidency. A DOJ spokesman telling the Times, quote, in any circumstance, all officials at the Department of Justice follow the guidance of career ethics officials.

5:29Conservative political strategist Scott Jennings on CNN offering some advice to the president. And he did also say, you heard him say there, it's going to come across my desk. I might be the one to decide whether I get paid a quarter of a billion dollars. Scott, I mean, do you think that that is something that should ever happen in this country. I don't know if it's true, if it has to come across his desk or not. However, because it is an unprecedented situation. But do you think he should get paid by the Justice Department? That's the question. My personal advice, if he asked me, would be have him table this until you leave office.

6:05The process started before you came to office. You then won an election. And you look, I think maybe he was damaged and he's entitled to the process. If it were me and I were advising him, I would just say you could table it and put it off until you leave office. This is far from the first time someone targeted by the FBI or DOJ has filed a complaint or received a payout seeking damages. Just last year, Joe Biden's DOJ settled a case brought by disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page. You remember them, the lovers whose texts the DOJ made public, in which they agreed that, quote, we can't take the risk of Trump being elected, writing that they had, quote, quote, an insurance policy designed to, quote, stop it.

6:48Well, those two sued the DOJ for violating their privacy as a result of those text messages being released. And Merrick Garland, AG under Joe Biden, approved a settlement. Here he is defending the DOJ's decision in an exchange with Republican Congressman Jim Jordan just last year. You go after a president and you get rewarded for doing so, according to the Justice Department. It's not a question of reward. It's a question of the government paying for violating the law. Guess how much the DOJ paid them? Two million dollars. Does the scorn their lawyer claimed they were subjected to compare at all to what Donald Trump was put through?

7:28Hmm. Construction beginning earlier this week on the new White House ballroom. On Tuesday, a crane seen demolishing parts of the East Wing to make room for the 90 ,000 square foot addition. The optics of the construction proving too much for many of the president's critics to bear. Surprise! Donald Trump is literally destroying the people's house because apparently he thinks it's his house. Donald Trump wants to be a king. Just look at what he's doing right now to the White House. I think it's fairly grotesque to begin construction, just the optics of beginning construction on a grand ballroom at a time when the government is shut down.

8:08What we see is destruction, demolition, and the symbolism is just staggering. Hillary Clinton chiming in on X, quote, It's not his house. It's your house. And he's destroying it. This is the same woman who, along with her husband, was criticized for taking nearly$200 ,000 worth of China, flatware, rugs, TVs, sofas, and more, when they left our house and who later paid back only about$86 ,000 of it. As for the Trump reno, according to the White House Historical Association, the People's House has an extensive renovation history since its original construction in 1792, including in 1993 when First Lady Hillary Clinton, there she is again, oversaw restoration projects in the Blue Room and the East Room and the conversion of a butler's pantry into a kitchen for family meals.

9:02The current press briefing room sits on top of what was once a swimming pool, constructed in 1933 by FDR. President Obama turned a tennis court into a basketball court. The list goes on and on. President Trump showing off plans for the ballroom yesterday afternoon. I think it'll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world. Because right now we have a space that with tables holds about 79 people. And this is a proper kind of a thing. Now, what the White House was doing, as you know, as they were putting tents out on the lawn. It's being paid for 100 percent by me and some friends of mine, donors to it.

9:37The government's paying absolutely nothing. Over the years, many presidents have made changes. This obviously would be the biggest change, but this was something they've wanted for at least 150 years. The ballroom expected to run an estimated$300 million. Donors are lining up to contribute to the cause. Lockheed Martin reportedly in for 10 million, Google committing at least 5 million, 22 million of the YouTube settlement won by President Trump last month earmarked for the construction project. According to The Hill, other companies considering donations include Amazon, Apple, Coinbase, Comcast, Microsoft, and T-Mobile.

10:14Construction set to be completed by early 2029, just shy of the end of President Trump's second term. Coming up, an independent journalist takes a peek inside what he calls an Antifa safe house, just one block away from the Portland ice facility. And as Paris investigators hunt for the Louvre jewel thieves, another alleged Paris museum thief is busted.

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11:26Independent journalist Nick Sorter capturing video inside what he describes as an Antifa safe house in Portland, Oregon, just one block away from the ICE facility at the center of the nightly protests. The safe house appears to be a commercial space on the ground level. The glass windows blocked with pull-down curtains, political signage, including a cardboard poster reading, quote, regulating capitalism only delays oligarchy and a Palestinian flag. Check. Sorter posting on X the spaces where, quote, violent Antifa terrorists flee after they commit crimes. Portland police allow them to harbor criminals there and do nothing about it.

12:04The video shows a small space with a small kitchen against one wall. There appears to be little to no furniture. A few apparent Antifa members seen unmasked sitting on the floor, surrounded by canned drinks and more political signage. Sorter is quickly spotted recording by the group. A young woman slamming the door closed. Moments later, the door bursting back open, a masked man now appearing through it. A warning, the language here is colorful. Get the fuck back, bitch. What are you doing? What are you doing? That's what I thought. I'm just checking it out. I'm on a public sidewalk. Close the window if you don't want to see in.

12:39There you go. You're so fucking closeted, Kenny. You're ugly. You're a fag. You look stupid. What's he got in there? Sorter saying this is the same location to which post-millennial journalist Katie Daviscourt followed her alleged attacker after she was beaten on September 30th. Daviscourt says an activist struck her with a metal pole, leaving her with a black eye and a concussion, then retreated to the building that Sorter reported is the safe house. Video showing multiple people blocking Daviscourt's view of the door with umbrellas. The Portland Police Bureau responding to AM Update, quote, the establishment shown in the video appears to be located on private property.

13:18With that in mind, any law enforcement action to include a search, seizure, or investigative activity would require the establishment of probable cause that a crime has been committed. A search warrant may only be issued following a thorough investigation and must be authorized by a judge in accordance with state and federal law. As with all public safety matters, the Portland Police Bureau follows appropriate legal procedures before taking enforcement action. Nowhere in that statement does PPB deny Antifa activists are using the property. Might want to make sure it's zoned for use as a home, too.

13:51Sorter telling Fox News Portland officers are running cover for anti-ice activists. I would believe that they've gotten some type of stand-down order not to do certain things, to not respond to this type of violence. Yeah, no, I mean, they'll definitely arrest people like me, but they have orders not to look like they are assisting ICE or DHS in any way, shape or form. They've said that publicly at this point, officers out here on camera. So that's not just speculation. They're saying that themselves. So somebody is giving that order. And I'm telling you or I'm going to find out who. PPB responding to AM Update, quote, Our officers who are in the South waterfront during protest activity are there to protect life, safety, and First Amendment rights.

14:39The Louvre Museum in Paris back open to the public after the brazen Sunday heist as French prosecutors announced the arrest of a woman stemming from a separate robbery from another museum just weeks before. Authorities still searching for the crew of four responsible for breaking into the Louvre just after it's open on Sunday. The crew, dressed in yellow construction vests, driving a truck-mounted ladder up to a window, forcing their way into the Apollo Room, which houses France's crown jewels, smashing through two glass cases, swiping eight pieces of Napoleonic jewelry, then dashing away on motor scooters.

15:17Paris prosecutor Laure Baku, who is leading the investigation, telling French outlet RTL the jewels hold an estimated value of 88 million euros, or 102 million bucks, though stressing the historical loss is far greater. Baku says about 100 investigators are working to identify the crew and locate the jewels before they are broken down and resold, saying, quote, we can perhaps hope that they'll think about this and won't destroy these jewels. Oh boy. French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for an expedited rollout of already planned security renovations. Now back to that other thief who was just arrested.

15:58This is a separate case. French authorities on Tuesday announcing the arrest of a 24-year-old Chinese woman for allegedly stealing gold from Paris's Natural History Museum. That's about a 20-minute walk from the Louvre. Prosecutor Bicou saying on September 16th, a single suspect entered the museum after 1 a.m., leaving, or should we say escaping, three hours later scot-free, with about 13 pounds of gold nuggets, valued at$1.7 million. A blowtorch, grinder, screwdriver, and saw were among the tools recovered near the scene, authorities busting the suspect later in Barcelona. She is charged with theft and criminal conspiracy and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

16:42What is going on in Paris?

16:47that'll do it for your am update i'm megan kelly join me back here for the megan kelly show live on sirius xm triumph channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all podcast platforms