ABC Drops Scathing New Deets on Trump’s $1.7 Billion IRS Deal To Drop Suit

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at an event about maternal healthcare, Monday, May 11, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

ABC News dropped new details on the alleged deal President Donald Trump will get to drop an IRS lawsuit, including a figure that’s a nod to the United States and behind the scenes maneuvering that originally included a plan to have the president paid directly.

Katherine Faulders, Peter Charalambous, and Alexander Mallin dropped a report on Saturday morning, citing sources familiar with the situation, about the potential “Truth and Justice Commission,” which would see sums paid to people who were unfairly targeted by the IRS and Justice Department, which critics fear could include those involved in the January 6 Capitol riot.

ABC first reported on Thursday about a potential plan to have Trump drop a $10 billion lawsuit in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund that could see his allies receive payments. Trump is suing the IRS over his tax returns being leaked in 2019 and 2020.

According to the new report, the exact figure for the commission will be $1.776 billion in a nod to to the year to the United States was founded. Sources told ABC that the creation of the commission was ultimately landed on after “months of deliberations between the White House and DOJ officials who originally attempted to craft a legal justification for the settlement to compensate Trump directly.”

Trump would not be able to be paid directly from the new commission, which critics have already red-flagged. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed it this week as “corruption” and a “slush fund” for the president’s allies.

Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS has been complicated for lawyers as it presents the odd dilemma of Trump suing agencies that he is currently in charge of.

ABC reported:

Advocating a centuries-old legal principle known as the “rule of necessity,” DOJ lawyers have argued that no alternative existed other than letting the lawsuit proceed with Trump acting as the plaintiff while being directly in charge of the defendants — the IRS and Treasury — according to sources.

Sources said that plan was ultimately scuttled in favor of the $1.776 billion compensation fund — with the figure being a nod to the nation’s founding — as the judge overseeing Trump’s IRS lawsuit began to raise issues with Trump suing the very government he leads. In an order last month, U.S. District Judge Katheen Williams ordered Trump’s lawyers in the case and the Department of Justice to submit court filings by next week to justify whether both sides of the case were sufficiently adverse for the matter to proceed.

The sources speaking to the outlet said the exact details of the lawsuit agreement could still change before everything is finalized.

The “Truth and Justice Commission” would reportedly be set up with five commissioners, four to be appointed by the attorney general. It would face “no obligation to disclose the process” for awarding the nearly $2 billion that would be at its disposal. Sources also said while Trump cannot receive money directly, “entities associated with the president” would be eligible, and DOJ lawyers believe the deal would not need to include approval from the court.

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