This weekend, the press was lit aflame anew when ABC News host George Stephanopoulos had a contentious interview with Vice President JD Vance. As streiff detailed in his report, the host was bothered by Vance's inability to be pinned down by his bitter questioning, and many in the press were heralding George for not allowing Vance to dodge his questions and ultimately cutting off the interview in mid-answer.
Vance had, in fact, been responding in kind, but Stephanopoulos did not like his answers to the negative. Can anybody explain how Vance was not addressing the issue, or lying about the details? Here are his responses prior to being cut off.
“Tom Homan did not take a bribe. It's a ridiculous smear.”
"George, this story has been covered ad nauseum. He did not take a bribe."
“There's absolutely no evidence that Tom Homan has ever taken a bribe, or done anything illegal.”
“Nobody has accused Tom of violating a crime, even the far-left media like yourself. So I'm actually not sure what the precise question is. Did he accept $50,000? Honestly, George, I don't know the answer to that question. What I do know is that he didn't violate a crime.”
JD Vance Cooks George Stephanopoulos for Refusing to Talk About the Schumer Shutdown
The impression being sold in the press is that Vance was evasive and deflecting. It’s ludicrous, as you see by his responses, but this is because this entire charge being made against Homan is not rooted in anything tangible. Consider first Stephanopoulos’ own approach to this charge, which reflects the comments made by many in the press (emphasis added).
“Tom Homan was recorded on an FBI surveillance tape in September 2024 accepting $50,000 in cash.”
“Did he accept the $50,000 that was caught on the surveillance tape?
“He was recorded on an audiotape in September 2024, an FBI surveillance tape, accepting $50,000 in cash.”
“What was caught on the tape, you're saying right now, you don't know whether or not he kept that money?”
“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.”
Now, to get to the bottom of this story, we need to set the table with the accusations and the evidence, but it is not an issue of parsing minute specifics to claim innocence. Here is the detail in all of this: Nobody can provide the very proof of what they definitively declare.
The claim being reported is that the FBI set up a sting to target Tom Homan last summer. (Note the lack of outrage over the Biden administration targeting his opponents and weaponizing the DOJ.) Undercover agents were posing as businessmen from security companies with an interest in border/immigration policy. They allegedly paid Homan $50,000 in cash, placed in a Cava restaurant take-out bag. This exchange was recorded on surveillance, and the FBI was awaiting Homan sending administration contracts to these agents to establish that a bribe was paid.
On first blush, this sounds really bad for Homan, as he was supposedly captured on tape accepting a bribe - but the details start to blur the accusations. First, Homan at the time was working as a private consultant, so striking deals of this nature are not uncommon (cash in take-out bags are not necessarily unique). The other disqualifying aspect is that in his role at the time, Homan had no power in issuing work contracts, though it would probably be argued that he could influence the process in some capacity.
Now, the real questions emerge when looking at the details of this money exchange. Right now, there are competing claims that this handoff was captured on video, with others saying it is an audio recording of the bribe taking place. One question -- if this tape is purely audio, how would the mention of the restaurant bag being used come to be known, unless someone noted this out loud during the exchange? This is a ham-fisted way of getting that detail recorded.
Yet here is where we get to the most disqualifying detail in all of this hysterical reporting – no one has actually seen or heard this claimed evidence.
The story first broke with a shared MSNBC report from disreputable intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonning, who recently fled the Washington Post. Dilanian’s participation is all the reason to begin looking at this story with deep skepticism. He was a key participant in the Russian collusion hoax and is a known mouthpiece for the deep state intel community.
The Scrambling and Excuse-Making as the IG Report Fully Exposes CNN
This MSNBC report claims “The FBI recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration.” In quick succession, several other outlets corroborated this story with their own anonymous sources, which essentially means the same sources that contacted multiple reporters with the same leaks.
The New York Times has come up with its own verifications. Reuters likewise came up with reports and appears to be the originator of the Cava bag detail. But the evolution of this story is more than curious. In the original report, MSNBC says definitively that a video recording was made, “On Sept. 20, 2024, with hidden cameras recording the scene at a meeting spot in Texas.” But then, recently, this has been declared an audio recording in outlets such as the New York Times: “The Times has reported that Mr. Homan was recorded on audiotape meeting with agents.”
For all of the reporting and all of the declarative comments that Homan has been caught taking this bribe, one glaring facet in this story exists: No reporter has said they've seen or heard these recordings. From the start of this story breaking, all the way up to Stephanopoulos peacocking boldly on Sunday, nobody has witnessed this supposed evidence.
The initial MSNBC report is a clear case of being fed specific inside intel by anonymous mouthpieces wanting to steer a narrative. In the lengthy report, you see no indication whatsoever that proof of this tape was seen. Both reporters attest that they only read about this surveillance tape existing.
Homan…indicated he would facilitate securing contracts for them in exchange for money once he was in office, according to documents and the people familiar with the case.
Homan accepted $50,000 in bills, according to an internal summary of the case and sources.
And Dilanian, with Leonning, go on to reiterate how they only read about this evidence, declaring Homan did this, “according to multiple people familiar with the probe and internal documents reviewed by MSNBC.” Throughout their exposé, all we get are times they reviewed printed documents or were told inside information from their sources. Dilanian and Leonning do not even provide screenshots or even simply deliver direct quotes from these documents; it is all relayed information.
Yet this is sufficient for the press to run with bold accusations that Homan did this, and was caught on tape - either audio or video, depending on your source. There is a paucity of the use of “alleged” in some of these reports, much like with Stephanopoulos. The press is convinced these tapes exist; actually witnessing the contents of said recordings is not apparently a prerequisite for declarative statements.
Look, is it possible that such exists? Sure, and if it does, then you have grounds for serious questioning. But when it comes to the accusation of accepting a bribe, this is a severe charge, one that carries plenty of accountability. It also carries with it the need to have very firm proof. Something we have yet to see materialize.
From this point forward, keep a watch on any members of the press declaring that such a tape(s) exists. Until someone reports witnessing the contents, they are trafficking in fraudulent reporting. You know, that "misinformation" so many in our media decry taking place.
Editor's Note: Donald Trump is America's Peace Time President. Support and follow Townhall's latest reporting on the president's historic trip to the Middle East.
Join RedState and use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member