Judiciary Democrats Press Trump-Vance Transition Team On Homan $50,000 Bribery Scandal: Who Knew About It, When Did They Know It, And Why Was Homan Appointed “Border Czar” Anyway?

Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2025)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Eric Swalwell are expanding the Committee Democrats’ investigation into Trump “Border Czar” Tom Homan’s pocketing of a $50,000 cash bribe in an Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting, and why the Trump Administration covered up the ongoing FBI criminal investigation into the matter. In a letter to Stanley Woodward, Associate Attorney General and former lead of the Trump-Vance DOJ Transition Team who was tasked with fully researching and vetting all candidates joining the incoming Trump Administration, the Members are demanding information on when the Trump team knew that its “Border Czar” pick was under active FBI investigation for accepting a bribe. They also want to know why, despite this, President Trump moved forward with appointing Mr. Homan to the role on his first day in office.

“Last month, we wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel about public reports that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI had killed an investigation of ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan for taking a $50,000 cash bribe in a brown Cava bag from undercover FBI agents posing as corrupt businessmen seeking to purchase future government contracts. Bondi and Patel have failed to answer that letter. Additional reports have since emerged about this disturbing episode, along with conflicting and increasingly desperate statements from the White House and Mr. Homan. We write now to follow up and demand that you answer these fundamental questions: Who knew about the Homan cash bribery scandal, when did they know it, and why was Mr. Homan appointed ‘Border Czar’ even in the face of such damning evidence of his taking bribes for government contracts?” wrote Committee Democrats. 

Bombshell reporting recently revealed that in September 2024, federal agents in Texas pursuing an unrelated case learned that Mr. Homan was soliciting payments in exchange for promises to award federal contracts if Donald Trump won the election. The FBI acted on this lead and undercover agents, posing as business executives, met with Mr. Homan. According to internal Justice Department documents corroborated by multiple sources, hidden cameras and audiotapes captured Mr. Homan accepting $50,000 in cash in a restaurant takeout bag and agreeing to help steer government contracts to the executives and their companies in a future Trump Administration.

On November 10, 2024, while the FBI’s investigation remained active, President Trump announced Mr. Homan as his choice for “Border Czar.” Under standard FBI vetting protocols, the Bureau is mandated to notify appropriate DOJ leadership about ongoing probes into senior political appointees. That means that the Biden Administration’s FBI would have notified their DOJ counterparts about the Homan sting, who would have relayed these facts to the Trump-Vance Transition Team. Mr. Woodward, the recipient of today’s letter, was tasked with researching and vetting all candidates to join the Trump Administration.

Reportedly, the White House wanted the investigation crushed before Trump was even inaugurated. Trump’s then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove signaled he wanted the investigation shut down in early 2025, and the investigation was soon closed.

The White House response to these reports has only heightened concerns of a cover-up. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially claimed that “Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to,” but then walked back her denial by saying that the sting operation was just “FBI agents going undercover to try and entrap one of the President’s top allies and supporters.” 

Mr. Homan himself also all but admitted to taking the bribe, saying during a Fox News appearance, “Look, I did nothing criminal, I did nothing illegal . . . And I’m glad the FBI and DOJ said that nothing illegal happened, no criminal activity.” 

In the interest of providing transparency to the American people, Judiciary Democrats are demanding Stanley Woodward answer several questions and supply documents, communications, and information regarding the Trump-Vance Transition Team’s knowledge of the bribe and the subsequent cover-up.

Click here to read the letter.