Sunny Hostin<\/a> on Wednesday urged her fellow co-hosts on \u201cThe View<\/a>\u201d to \u201cspeak plainly\u201d about President Donald Trump<\/a> demanding $230 million<\/a> from the U.S. Department of Justice \u2014 for the expenses he incurred defending himself against federal criminal investigations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think we need to speak plainly to people, and I think we need to call it what it is: This is giving mob boss,\u201d Hostin said.<\/a> \u201cRight? That\u2019s what this is. He is extorting and looting the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Trump has filed two complaints against the DOJ<\/a>: one for its investigation of his 2016 presidential campaign for alleged collusion with Russia to interfere in that election, and another for searching Mar-a-Lago for classified documents he allegedly mishandled from his first presidential term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Trump reportedly said Tuesday<\/a> he would donate \u201cany money I would get\u201d from the DOJ to charity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The president is \u201cextorting and looting the federal government that he\u2019s already extorting and looting, because, as you mentioned, since 2017, his family has made $3.4 billion,\u201d Hostin said Wednesday, crediting her co-host Joy Behar for bringing up the exorbitant figure earlier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The president has certainly made a fortune while in office: The $3.4 billion figure stems from an analysis published by The New Yorker<\/a> in August, which factored in all of Trump\u2019s cryptocurrency ventures, real estate deals and seemingly endless licensing agreements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Trump himself recently bragged that he had \u201craised\u201d more than $1.5 billion<\/a> \u201cin various forms\u201d since the 2024 election alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alex Brandon\/Associated Press<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Hostin noted Wednesday that Trump also received a $400 million luxury jet<\/a> from the oil-rich autocracy of Qatar, then granted Qatar a U.S. military defense guarantee<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, also pointed out that Trump was caught on a hot mic<\/a> last week telling Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto that he would have his son Eric Trump call him at Subianto\u2019s request. Hostin surmised that the exchange was \u201cprobably about a business deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis is about a mob boss extorting the government for his own personal \u2026 gratitude and enrichment,\u201d Hostin fumed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/68f950941800008959fe3f57.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
<\/picture><\/div>\n