Donald Trump and senior officials inside his administration are weighing a controversial proposal to create a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for Americans who claim they were unfairly targeted by federal investigations, a plan that is already raising legal and political concerns in Washington.
The proposed initiative, referred to in discussions as the "Truth and Justice Commission," is emerging alongside Trump's ongoing legal fight with the Internal Revenue Service over leaked tax records and broader Republican allegations that the Department of Justice was weaponized during the Biden administration.
According to CNN, discussions surrounding the plan remain preliminary, and administration officials have not finalized how the commission would operate, who would qualify for compensation, or which federal agency would finance the effort. Still, the scale of the proposal has drawn immediate attention because of both its symbolism and its timing.
Sources familiar with the talks said the proposed figure - roughly $1.776 billion - was intentionally selected as a reference to 1776, linking the initiative to themes of American independence and constitutional grievance. Internally, some supporters have framed the idea as a formal mechanism to review claims from individuals who believe they were "wrongly targeted by the weaponisation of Biden's DOJ."
Others involved in discussions have suggested the scope could potentially extend beyond a single administration, though no official framework has been publicly released.
The proposal intersects directly with Trump's separate lawsuit against the IRS, filed alongside Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges confidential tax information belonging to the Trump family was improperly disclosed to media organizations during Trump's first term in office.
That controversy already resulted in criminal consequences for former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who received a five-year prison sentence after admitting he unlawfully obtained and leaked tax documents tied to wealthy Americans, including Trump.
A spokesperson for Trump's legal team sharply criticized the disclosures, saying "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."
What remains unclear is how a compensation structure connected to broader DOJ investigations could legally be established through settlement negotiations tied to a separate IRS dispute.
Legal analysts expect immediate scrutiny over whether the executive branch has authority to create such a fund without congressional approval, particularly if taxpayer money is ultimately involved. Questions are also emerging about how claims would be evaluated and whether politically connected applicants could receive preferential treatment.
The administration has reportedly attempted to avoid one obvious conflict point: Trump himself would not receive compensation under the proposal, according to people briefed on the matter. Supporters view that restriction as necessary to shield the initiative from accusations that the president is using the machinery of government for personal financial benefit while simultaneously pursuing his own litigation.
Even with that safeguard, critics argue the plan risks blurring the line between legitimate oversight of government misconduct and political retribution.
The proposal also arrives during a period of intensifying Republican rhetoric surrounding federal law enforcement agencies. Trump and his allies have repeatedly accused the DOJ, FBI and IRS of politically motivated investigations, while Democrats and legal scholars counter that many of the probes involved standard criminal and national-security procedures.
No official list of potential beneficiaries has been released, and no formal legislation establishing the commission has been introduced in Congress.
