ByPHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER
Published:12:12 EDT, 15 May 2026|Updated:15:20 EDT, 15 May 2026
Donald Trumpwill drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.7 billion taxpayer-funded payout to his business entities and allies who claim the Biden administration wrongfully targeted them.
The commission overseeing Trump's fund would have complete authority to distribute the money to anyone alleging harm from the Biden administration's 'weaponization' of the legal system, including nearly 1,600 January 6 defendants.
While Trump is barred from directly receiving payments on those three claims, entities associated with him are not explicitly prohibited from filing additional ones, according to ABC News.
Along with a public apology from the IRS, the fund is the main condition for Trump to drop the $10 billion suit over the 2019 leak of his tax returns, as well as $230 million in claims tied to the 2022 Mar-a-Lago search and the Russia collusion investigation.
Trump would also have the power to remove commission members without cause, and the panel would face no obligation to disclose how it awards the funds.
Some administration officials have raised ethical concerns over the arrangement, and Trump himself conceded last October that 'it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself.'
A spokesman for Trump's legal team said the IRS 'wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information' about Trump and his businesses to media outlets.
The Justice Department declined to comment. Trump vowed to donate any proceeds he receives from the lawsuit to charity.
Source: Drudge Report
