WASHINGTON, D.C.—Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the agency’s refusal to release records regarding its abruptly concluded investigation of Tom Homan’s alleged pay-to-play corruption. DDF sought all records related to the investigation, including original and unedited audio recordings, video footage, and photographs taken or collected in connection with his communications with FBI agents concerning promises to provide government contracts. As the administration’s “Border Czar,” Homan oversees policies affecting millions of people and billions in federal spending.

On September 23, 2025, DDF filed this FOIA request, the first in a series, after news broke that in 2024 Homan had taken a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents apparently in exchange for the promise of future government contracts. Despite the FBI’s belief that the case against Homan was strong, the Trump Administration then abruptly closed that investigation last year.

The FBI wrongly denied DDF’s request in full on Jan. 5, 2026, and then failed to substantively respond to DDF’s January 9 administrative appeal within FOIA’s statutory deadline, prompting today’s lawsuit.

“Tom Homan is alleged to have taken tens of thousands of dollars to peddle government contracts. If true, that is textbook corruption. If Trump appointees shut down the investigation, that raises even more serious questions,” said Virginia Canter, chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund. “The administration must come clean and provide the tapes and files. If they do not, we hope a judge will force them to because the American people deserve the truth.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alongside co-counsel  Ginger Quintero-McCall and Kevin H. Bell of the public interest law firm, Free Information Group, PLLC, asks the court to order the government to produce the requested documents, as required by public records laws. 

“The FBI asserted Homan’s personal privacy as grounds to conceal records of its coverup,” said Bell. “There is no privacy interest in public corruption. We look forward to helping DDF enforce the public’s right to hear the whole story.”

“The public is entitled to answers about both the potential breach of public trust by Mr. Homan and the Administration’s arguably self-interested choice to close that investigation,” Quintero-McCall added.

“DDF asked for specific investigative records and the FBI refused to release anything at all — but transparency here is not optional,” said Taryn Wilgus Null, senior counsel at Democracy Defenders Fund. “Americans cannot hold their institutions accountable when the government keeps these facts a secret. The public simply has a right to know whether a senior White House official was investigated for selling access to government contracts and why that investigation was closed.”

DDF has also requested related records from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding its investigation of Homan, including case files, interview reports, and summaries, as well as any communications between the DOJ, the White House, and Trump’s White House transition team. Another request seeks documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that could provide insight into contractors who may have benefited from the alleged pay-to-play scheme.

DDF also sent a formal letter to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) requesting an investigation into whether Homan falsified his required public financial disclosure report by failing to disclose the $50,000 payment. Following additional reports indicating that Homan participated in contract discussions related to detention services with several of his former clients, DDF sent an additional letter to OGE urging it to widen its probe.

The lawsuit can be found HERE.

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.