Vice President JD Vance engaged in a heated exchange with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday over allegations that border czar Tom Homan accepted a $50,000 bribe. The confrontation occurred during an interview on ABC's This Week, where Stephanopoulos pressed Vance on reports from ProPublica and other outlets that Homan was recorded on FBI surveillance tape accepting cash in September 2024.
Stephanopoulos repeatedly asked Vance whether Homan had accepted the money, to which Vance responded: “Accepting $50,000 for doing what, George? I am not even sure I understand the question. Is it illegal to take a payment for doing services? The FBI has not prosecuted him.” Vance then criticised the anchor, saying: “Here’s why fewer and fewer people watch your show, and why you’re losing credibility.”
The White House has denied that Homan took the bribe. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated in September that Homan “never took the $50,000” and that the Department of Justice and FBI found “zero evidence of illegal activity”. Homan himself called the allegations “bull****” in an interview with NewsNation and indirectly denied the reporting to Fox News, saying: “I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal.”
According to reports, Homan was investigated by the FBI near the end of the Biden administration. The investigation was dropped after President Trump took office in January. Democrats in Congress have vowed to investigate the matter further.
