Truth and Justice Commission: Trump's $1.8bn Plan to Compensate Allies 'Wrongly' Targeted by DOJ

The Truth and Justice Commission, a proposed compensation scheme linked to US President Donald Trump, is being discussed in Washington as officials consider a fund of nearly £1.13bn ($1.8bn) to pay people who say they were wrongly investigated by the Department of Justice.

The plan is still in early talks and is tied to Trump's ongoing legal dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over alleged tax record leaks.

According to CNN, the idea has surfaced while the Trump administration is also negotiating a possible resolution to a separate £7.9bn ($10bn) lawsuit against the IRS. That case centres on claims that Trump's private tax information was improperly shared with the media during his first term in office and is still moving through the courts in Florida.

Truth and Justice Commission Plan Links To DOJ Disputes

The proposed 'Truth and Justice Commission' is being discussed as a way to compensate people who say they were wrongfully investigated by federal agencies in the past.

Sources familiar with the talks say the fund could be worth around £1.41bn ($1.8bn), with £1.39bn ($1.776bn) reportedly chosen because it symbolically links to 1776. Nothing has been finalised yet, including the name, structure, or how any payments would be assessed.

Those briefed on the idea say it is intended to create a formal process for reviewing claims from individuals who believe they were unfairly targeted by government investigations. Some descriptions of the plan frame it as addressing people allegedly 'wrongly targeted by the weaponisation of Biden's DOJ' while others say it could apply more widely across different administrations. That wider scope has not been confirmed.

The proposal is also being designed so that Trump would not personally receive any payment. Sources say this is intended to avoid ethical concerns, since the discussions are taking place within his own administration while he is also involved in related legal proceedings.

Even with that safeguard, legal experts expect the plan to face challenges if it moves forward. Questions are likely to be raised about whether such a fund can legally be created through settlement talks, and how decisions would be made without political influence affecting the outcomes.

Questions Over Money And Fairness

One of the biggest unanswered questions is where the money would actually come from.

Officials from the Department of Justice, the IRS and the White House have all been involved in discussions, but no agency has been identified as the confirmed source of funding.

There is also no agreed system for determining who qualifies for compensation. Early discussions suggest it could include people who claim they were wrongfully investigated, but the definition remains unclear. That uncertainty is likely to become a major point of dispute if the plan progresses.

The proposal sits alongside Trump's ongoing lawsuit against the IRS, which he filed in January alongside his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The case alleges that confidential tax records were leaked without authorisation during his first term in office and shared with major news organisations.

That alleged leak has already led to a criminal case involving former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who was sentenced to five years in prison for unlawfully obtaining and disclosing tax records. His actions are central to Trump's legal complaint that government systems failed to protect sensitive information.

According to a spokesperson for Trump's legal team, the administration continues to pursue accountability for what they describe as improper disclosures of private financial data. The statement said the government wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information,' adding that Trump 'continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable.'

Officials familiar with the discussions say an announcement on the Truth and Justice Commission could come soon, though they stress that nothing has been finalised and the proposal may still change significantly.