Vice President JD Vance battled ABC host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday during ABCâs âThis Weekâ as the vice president denied that Border Czar Tom Homan accepted a bribe.

Vice President JD Vance clashed with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday as the vice president denied border czar Tom Homan accepted a bribe and accused the ABC host of losing credibility, leading the interview to abruptly end.
Stephanopoulos pressed Vance repeatedly on whether Homan accepted money and said Homan was ârecorded on an audiotape in September 2024, an FBI surveillance tape, accepting $50,000 in cash.â
MSNBC reported in September that Homan allegedly took $50,000 in cash in September 2024 from undercover FBI agents he believed were business executives after suggesting he could help them secure government contracts with a second Trump administration. The outlet reported that the FBI said the investigation into Homan closed and the White House said at the time that Homan never even accepted the money in the first place, and said that President Donald Trump did not ask the Justice Department to shutter the probe.
âI donât know what tape youâre referring to, George. I saw media reports that Tom Homan accepted a bribe. Thereâs no evidence of that. And hereâs why fewer and fewer people watch your program and why youâre losing credibility,â Vance said. âBecause youâre talking for now, five minutes with the vice president of the United States about this story regarding Tom Homan, a story that Iâve read about, but I donât even know the video that youâre talking about.â

Vice President JD Vance speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington D.C.  (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
Vance said they should focus on âreal issuesâ and told Stephanopoulos he was âgoing down some weird left-wing rabbit hole, where the facts clearly show that Tom Homan didnât engage in any criminal wrongdoing.â
âItâs not a weird left-wing rabbit hole. I didnât 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,â Stephanopoulos responded before ending the interview. âThank you for your time this morning.â
Vance tried to respond again, but the ABC News host moved on.

VANCE TURNS TABLES ON MEDIA ASKING IF TRUMP IS COVERING FOR âPEDOPHILES,â SAYS PRESS NEVER ASKED PRIOR ADMINS
The vice president posted on X after the interview and said Stephanopoulos didnât care about other news, including the Middle East peace deal and the shutdown.
âGeorge S doesnât care about that. Heâs here to focus on the real story: a fake scandal involving Tom Homan,â Vance wrote.
ABC News did not immediately return a request for comment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the allegations in September.
âMr. Homan never took the $50,000 that youâre referring to, so you should get your facts straight, number one,â Leavitt told reporters in September. âNumber two, this was another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trumpâs strongest and most vocal supporters in the midst of a presidential campaign, you had FBI agents going undercover to try and entrap one of the presidentâs top allies and supporters, someone who they knew very well would be taking a government position months later, Mr. Homan did absolutely nothing wrong.â

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing room at the White House, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington. (Associated Press)
Previously, Trump administration officials have refrained from saying Homan never accepted the cash, and instead, said that there was no evidence of illegal activity.


