Senate Democrats Press DOJ Over Closed Homan Bribery Probe, Demand Records After Undercover Tape Allegation

Senate Democrats are escalating pressure on the Justice Department after reports that an undercover FBI operation recorded White House border czar Tom Homan accepting $50,000 in cash in 2024.

MS NOW first reported the undercover operation, in which agents posing as business executives allegedly recorded Homan indicating he could help them secure government contracts in a potential second Trump administration and accepting $50,000 in a Cava bag. FBI and DOJ officials reportedly delayed immediate action to see whether Homan would follow through on the purported promise. The investigation was later closed seven months ago after Homan was appointed to the White House post.

Senators Seek Documents; DOJ Denies Expedited FOIA

Three Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats—Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Adam Schiff (Calif.)—filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the DOJ Criminal Division seeking records related to the case. Given the high-profile nature of the allegations, the senators separately requested expedited processing under FOIA's clause for "a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government's integrity which affect public confidence."

The Justice Department's Office of Information Policy (OIP) rejected the request for expedited handling, telling the senators that it had "determined that your request for expedited processing should be denied" because the matter did not meet the threshold of "widespread and exceptional media interest" for accelerated processing.

Lawmakers Push Back

In a letter sent late last week, Whitehouse, Blumenthal and Schiff challenged the OIP decision. They wrote that closing a corruption inquiry into a high-ranking White House official who was reportedly filmed taking bribe money "spawned a deluge of media coverage, reflecting widespread and exceptional media interest." The senators also highlighted unanswered questions: where the $50,000 went, whether Homan reported the money on financial disclosures or paid taxes on it, and why the probe was abruptly closed after his White House appointment.

"Homan's reported acceptance of the $50,000 bribe from undercover agents, the inability of Homan or any other government official to account for that money, the lack of clarity on whether Homan paid taxes on it or declared it on his required financial disclosures, and the abrupt closure of the investigation once Homan became a White House official all raise questions about the government's integrity that affect public confidence," the senators wrote.

Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada has also urged the DOJ inspector general to open a "robust investigation" into both the bribery allegation and the department's handling of the case to evaluate "Mr. Homan's fitness for the job." The three senators argue that denying expedited FOIA processing undermines transparency and warned that continued resistance could lead to litigation to obtain the records more quickly.

Homan's Public Responses

Tom Homan has repeatedly denied illegal conduct in television interviews but has avoided directly answering whether he accepted or later returned the cash. Shortly after MS NOW's September report, he told Fox News' Laura Ingraham he "did nothing illegal," while declining to confirm whether he accepted $50,000 in a Cava bag. In January on NBC's "Meet the Press," Homan said he "didn't take $50,000 from anybody" and later refused to answer additional questions about the money.

Ken Dilanian of MS NOW urged the White House to release case files and any FBI recordings of Homan's meetings with undercover agents to resolve outstanding questions. To date, those files and recordings have not been made public.

This article updates previous coverage as the dispute over document access and potential oversight actions continues on Capitol Hill.