ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos abruptly ended a tense live interview with Vice President JD Vance on Sunday after the two clashed over reports that Trump border czar Tom Homan allegedly accepted a bribe.
Stephanopoulos, host of “This Week,” heatedly pressed the veep Sunday about whether Homan accepted a $50,000 cash bribe that undercover FBI agents allegedly offered him during a 2024 sting operation.
“Was Tom Homan recorded on an audiotape in September 2024, an FBI surveillance tape, accepting $50,000 in cash?” the anchor asked, citing a report from MSNBC.
Vance flatly denied the allegation and accused Stephanopoulos of spreading “a fake scandal.”
“I don’t know what tape you’re referring to, George,” he said.
“I saw media reports that Tom Homan accepted a bribe. There’s no evidence of that,” the vice president continued.
“And here’s why fewer and fewer people watch your program and why you’re losing credibility,” Vance said.
Vance told Stephanopoulous: “You’re talking for now, 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 that you’re talking about.”
The vice president encouraged the anchor to focus on “real issues” instead of “going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole, where the facts clearly show that Tom Homan didn’t engage in any criminal wrongdoing.”
Stephanopoulos pushed back, insisting he was asking a legitimate question.
“It’s not a weird left-wing rabbit hole,” the anchor insisted, adding: “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.”
At that point, Stephanopoulos cut off the interview while Vance was mid-sentence.
“Thank you for your time this morning,” the host said.
The Post has sought comment from Vance and ABC News.
The blowup came a month after the Justice Department officially closed its probe into Homan, concluding there was “no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing,” according to a joint statement by FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“This matter originated under the previous administration,” they said.
The alleged bribe involved a bag from the Cava restaurant chain containing $50,000 in cash that FBI agents posing as businessmen handed to Homan in September 2024, during the final months of the Biden administration, according to CNBC and other outlets.
Investigators reviewed the transaction but determined Homan, who was not in the government at the time, had made no promises of official action in exchange for the money.
The White House later denounced the investigation as politically motivated.
“This blatantly political investigation, which found no evidence of illegal activity, is yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies,” Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said last month.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also blasted media reports of the alleged bribery, saying “Mr. Homan did absolutely nothing wrong,” and accused the FBI of trying to “entrap” Homan.
Sunday’s confrontation marked the latest flashpoint for Stephanopoulos, 63, who has struggled to steady his footing after months of internal backlash at ABC News.
He was forced to apologize publicly in December after incorrectly claiming on air that then-President-elect Trump had been “found liable for rape” in a lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll.
A Manhattan jury had actually found Trump civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation — not rape.
To settle the commander-in-chief’s defamation lawsuit over Stephanopoulos’ remarks, Disney-owned ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library, with another $1 million for his side’s legal fees. The payout left the anchor “apoplectic” and “humiliated,” insiders said.
Industry insiders said Disney CEO Bob Iger pushed to resolve the dispute before Trump returned to office, worried the case could jeopardize the company’s regulatory dealings in Washington.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
