President Donald Trump just said the quiet part loud: he believes he can award himself “a sensational amount” of taxpayer money from lawsuits he filed against the government—that he now controls.

“I’m supposed to work out a settlement with myself,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, describing what may be the most nakedly corrupt arrangement in American presidential history.

WHAT’S GOING ON: Trump is currently suing the U.S. government for more than $10 billion across multiple lawsuits. As president, he’s now on both sides of these cases. When a reporter asked what that’s like, Trump explained his solution: funnel the money to “charities” of his choosing.

“We can make it a sensational amount, and nobody would care because it’s going to go to numerous, very good charities,” he said.

The lawsuits include two against the Department of Justice—one over the Mar-a-Lago FBI search that recovered classified documents he illegally kept, another over the Russia investigation he calls a “hoax” (despite multiple associates going to prison over it). He’s seeking $115 million in each case.

Then there’s the big one: a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department, filed Thursday, claiming the government failed to prevent the leak of his tax returns.

THE DETAILS: Trump claims Attorney General Pam Bondi has already agreed to his charity donation scheme. The Department of Justice has 60 days to decide whether to fight or settle his new IRS lawsuit.

Of course, Trump can’t donate to the Donald J. Trump Foundation—his old charitable organization was shut down in 2018 after he was ordered to pay $2 million for misusing its funds. So where might his “charity” money go? Potentially the Trump Accounts initiative or the White House Restoration Fund, which is financing his $400 million East Wing ballroom project.

Just so we’re clear: the president is proposing to sue himself, settle with himself for taxpayer money, and then direct those funds to causes he personally controls. That’s not charity. That’s embezzlement with extra steps.

BUT BUT BUT: Trump’s history with charitable giving should give everyone pause. The tax returns leaked by IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn showed Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017—and nothing in several other years. Investigations have found his claims of being “one of the most charitable people” are, to put it mildly, inflated.

Meanwhile, Trump has grown his net worth an estimated $3.9 billion during just the first year of his second term. He could make charitable donations from his own pocket at any time. He hasn’t.

WHY IT MATTERS: This is a sitting president openly declaring he can write himself blank checks from the public treasury, then launder them through “charities” he selects—and that “nobody would care.” He’s not even pretending there’s oversight or accountability. The person being sued, the person doing the suing, and the person deciding the outcome are all the same guy.

This isn’t how lawsuits work. This isn’t how government works. This is autocracy dressed up in legal theater, and Trump is betting Americans are too exhausted or distracted to notice he just claimed the right to raid the federal piggy bank whenever he wants.