White House’s new fraud whistleblower program suffers from some glaring flaws

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance unveiled a $25 million program on Tuesday that pays citizens for reporting fraud against the government, with the Justice Department running it. It arrives seven months after Vance's anti-fraud task force began, and its claim of $260 billion in fraud has mostly not held up when examined, according to MS NOW commentator Steve Benen.

Tips go through fraud.gov, and a tipster can receive up to $30,000 when a report leads to a criminal conviction or major federal enforcement action. Trump also said informants would get 1% of disclosed fraud and predicted some would make millions. A reporter noted that the False Claims Act, in force for over 150 years, already allows 10% to 25%.

Benen argues the design invites baseless accusations that investigators must review, and that the first payout, to right-wing YouTube influencer Nick Shirley, makes the effort look political. He also points to the administration's treatment of whistleblowers. Trump said he will personally arbitrate disputes over who earns what.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →