Senior department officials who were defense lawyers for the president and those in his orbit are now in jobs that typically must approve any such payout, underscoring potential ethical conflicts.
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general; Attorney General Pam Bondi; and Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, with President Trump in the Oval Office last week.
The Justice Department’s inspector general disclosed new details about the extent of misconduct by a top F.B.I. counterintelligence official, Charles McGonigal.