President Trump announced Tuesday from the Oval Office that the federal government will pay whistleblowers who report people defrauding taxpayers, and that he will decide who gets paid. "I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions," he said, with Vice President JD Vance, who leads the administration's fraud task force, at his side.
Trump announces the Department of Justice’s new plan to entice Americans to blow the whistle on alleged fraud (Getty Images)Trump said informants would get 1% of the fraud they report, even if it reached $100 billion, and be paid "immediately." The program's own website says successful whistleblowers get up to $30,000, depending on whether the tip leads to criminal charges. Asked about the gap, Trump told CBS there is no limit and no charges are required.
The size of the fund points the other way. MPR News reported that Trump called it a $25 million program, to be run by the Justice Department. At 1%, $25 million is used up by $2.5 billion of reported fraud, so the $100 billion case Trump described would owe a payout forty times the pot. Tips are encrypted and go to the Treasury Department, and CBS said it is unclear who reviews them. Trump added that he would personally settle cases where more than one person claims credit for the same tip.
President Trump announced a new federal fraud whistleblower incentive program that he says will pay Americans, including journalists, a 1% commission for reporting fraud and corrupti
