‘You’re Losing Credibility’: JD Vance Brawls With George Stephanopoulos Over Tom Homan Bribery Scandal

Vice President JD Vance and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos brawled over Border Czar Tom Homan and the $50,000 he allegedly accepted from undercover FBI agents last year on Sunday’s edition of This Week, with Vance eventually telling the anchor that the line of questioning is “why fewer and fewer people watch your program.”

Here’s a transcript of their throw-down:

STEPHANOPOULOS: 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?

VANCE: George, you’ve covered the story ad nauseum. Tom Homan did not take a bribe. It’s a ridiculous smear. And the reason you guys are going after Tom Homan so aggressively is because he’s doing the job of enforcing the law. I think it’s really preposterous. I know Tom, I think that he’s a good man. He gets death threats, he gets attacked, he gets constantly threatened by people because he has the audacity to want to enforce the country’s immigration laws. I think that it would be a much more interesting story about why is it that Tom Homan, who is simply enforcing America’s immigration laws, is getting constantly harassed and threatened to the point of death threats? That’s a much more interesting question that I think journalists should focus on. We can agree to disagree on that question.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, wait, you said he didn’t take a bribe, but I’m not sure you answered the question. Are you saying that he did not accept the $50,000?

VANCE: George, this story has been covered ad nauseum. 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 —

STEPHANOPOULOS: No, I’m asking a different question. I’m asking you did he accept–

VANCE: — or done anything illegal, which is why he’s working in the administration.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m asking you, did he accept the $50,000 that was caught on the surveillance tape? Did he accept that $50,000 or not?

VANCE: George, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did he accept $50,000 for what?

STEPHANOPOULOS: He was recorded on an audiotape in September 2024, an FBI surveillance tape, accepting $50,000 in cash. Did he keep that money?

VANCE: Accepting $50,000 for doing what, George? I’m not even sure I understand the question. Is it illegal to take a payment for doing services? The FBI has not prosecuted him. I’ve never seen any evidence that he’s engaged in criminal wrongdoing. 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.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you don’t-, what was caught on the tape, you’re saying right now you don’t know whether or not he kept that money?

VANCE: I don’t know what tape you’re referring to, George. 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 program, and why you’re losing credibility. Because you’re talking for now, five minutes with the Vice President of United States about this story regarding Tom Homan, a story that I’ve read about, but I don’t even know the video that you’re talking about. Meanwhile, low-income women can’t get food because the Democrats and Chuck Schumer have shut down the government. Right now, we’re trying to figure out how to pay our troops because Chuck Schumer has shut down the government. You are focused on a bogus story. You’re insinuating criminal wrongdoing against a guy who has done nothing wrong instead of focusing on the fact that our country is struggling because our government is shut down. Let’s talk about the real issues, George. I think the American people would benefit much more from that than from you going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole, where the facts clearly show that Tom Homan didn’t engage in any criminal wrongdoing.

STEPHANOPOULOS: 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.

Watch above via ABC.