Tom Homan took $50k bribe? ‘Left-wing rabbit hole’, says Vance in heated exchange with ABC host Stephanopoulos video

US Vice President J D Vance on Sunday got into a war of words with ABC host George Stephanopoulos over alleged bribery charges against White House 'border czar' and immigration policy enforcer Tom Homan, with videos of the heated contest going viral on social media.

The interview on ABC's 'This Week', which began with a discussion on the ceasefire in West Asia, quickly spiralled into a heated debate after Stephanopoulos brought up the bribery allegations against Homan.

"The White House border czar, Tom Homan, was recorded on an FBI surveillance tape in September 2024 accepting $50,000 in cash. Did he keep that money or give it back?" asked the ABC host, in response to which Vance denied the allegation.

"George you've covered this story ad nauseum. Tom Homan did not take a bribe—it's a ridiculous smear," Vance told Stephanopoulos.

"I’m not sure you answered the question. Are you saying that he did not accept the $50,000?," Stephanopoulos fired back, visibly irking the US Vice President.

"He did not take a bribe. Did he accept $50,000? I’m sure that in the course of Tom Homan’s life, he has been paid more than $50,000 for services. The question is, did he do something illegal? And there’s absolutely no evidence that Tom Homan has ever taken a bribe," Vance hit back.

As the ABC host pressed for a definitive answer, Vance went on to attack the show's credibility, saying, "I don't know what tape you're referring to... I saw media reports that Tom Homan accepted a bribe, there's no evidence of that. And here's George why fewer and fewer people watch your programme and why you're losing credibility."

"You're talking for five minutes with the Vice-President of the United States about this story regarding Tom Homan, a story that I've read about, but I don't even know the video you're talking about. Meanwhile, low-income women can't get food because the Democrats and Chuck Schumer have shut down the government," Vance went on.

Asserting that the government's first priority was addressing the ongoing shutdown, Vance charged, "You're focussing on a bogus story, you're insinuating criminal wrongdoing against a guy who has done nothing wrong instead of focussing on the fact that our country is struggling, because our government's shutdown. Let's talk about the real issues, George... I think the American people would benefit much more from that instead of you going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole... (sic)"

"It’s not a weird left-wing rabbit hole. I didn’t insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50,000, as was heard on an audiotape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. And you did not answer the question. Thank you for your time this morning," was Stephanopoulos' steely reply.

Even as Vance attempted to reply to the ABC show host, the interview was stopped.

What are the allegations against Homan?

US media reports have alleged that Homan accepted a $50,000 bribe last year, promising immigration-related government contracts to FBI agents, who met the official posing as business executives during a sting operation.

Reacting to the allegations, the White House denied Homan's role, with Karoline Leavitt saying that the official "did absolutely nothing wrong" and was targetted by the Biden administration to discredit him.

The former acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homan was designated by Trump as the "border czar" to enforce immigration policies during his second presidency.