'Wrongfully withheld': Trump admin faces double whammy as lawsuits allege FOIA violations by DOJ and DHS over Tom Homan allegedly 'accepting $50,000 in cash in a paper bag'

Two Trump administration agencies are violating the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to merchandise accusation astir immoderate $50,000 worthy of "bribes" accepted by Border Czar Tom Homan, according to a treble whammy of national lawsuits filed Monday.

In a 15-page complaint filed against the Department of Justice and a 14-page complaint filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Democracy Defenders Fund accuses some agencies of violating statutory deadlines and unlawfully withholding records.

The lawsuits stem from a September 2025 study by MS Now that Homan was recorded the twelvemonth earlier accepting a $50,000 container of currency from undercover FBI agents, who were pretending to beryllium concern executives looking to unafraid sweetheart authorities contracts successful the lawsuit Donald Trump returned to the White House.

"[T]he probe into Mr. Homan began during the extremity of the Biden Administration, erstwhile a people successful a antithetic probe disclosed that Mr. Homan, who expected an assignment by President Trump, was accepting bribes successful speech for aboriginal contracts," 1 of the lawsuits explains. "[T]he FBI planned to hold to spot whether Mr. Homan would present connected the promised contracts erstwhile helium was appointed by President Trump."

The FBI's "investigation against Tom Homan was dropped without mentation aft the Trump Administration assumed power of the Department of Justice," 1 of the lawsuits notes.

As Law&Crime previously reported, erstwhile Kash Patel's FBI and Attorney General Pam Bondi's DOJ took the reins of the corruption probe, the agencies said "no credible grounds of immoderate transgression wrongdoing" was uncovered and the Homan lawsuit was closed.

In some lawsuits, the nonprofit radical says the agencies person simply taken excessively agelong to respond to the FOIA requests.

But that's not all.

The DOJ-focused suit besides claims the bureau has "failed to nutrient responsive records" oregon explicate wherefore specified records "cannot beryllium produced due to the fact that of exemptions" nether the FOIA statute — suggesting the bureau has specified records successful its possession but refuses to springiness them up for 1 crushed oregon different and refuses to explicate why.

Such actions magnitude to an outright "denial" of the FOIA request, leaving lone litigation to enforce the law, the suit claims.

"Defendant is frustrating Plaintiff's efforts to adequately recognize and amended the nationalist regarding the Department of Justice and broader Trump Administration's efforts to curtail a corruption probe into Tom Homan, who remains a elder White House advisor presently starring the astir salient components of the President's home agenda," the DOJ suit reads.

The DHS-focused suit takes a somewhat antithetic space by claiming the bureau has "failed to hunt for records responsive" to the FOIA requests — suggesting a much basal aversion to FOIA requirements.

"Defendant is frustrating Plaintiff's efforts to adequately recognize and amended the nationalist regarding millions of dollars of perchance corrupt contracts," the DHS suit reads.

Both FOIA requests were filed with the applicable bureau connected the aforesaid time — Feb. 3, 2026 — and incorporate astir a leafage worthy of names, descriptions of documents, and applicable custodians.

The DOJ petition is specifically tuned toward records of Biden-era lawsuit files, instrumentality enforcement applications for undercover enactment — including the exertion for the stack of currency utilized successful the set-up, interrogation reports, interrogation records, arsenic good arsenic the resulting communications from DOJ officials nether the Trump administration.

The suit describes the wide thrust of the petition as:

All records related to immoderate probe oregon investigations oregon the imaginable prosecution by the Department of Justice of Thomas "Tom" Douglas Homan successful transportation with alleged bribery oregon usurpation of immoderate national instrumentality created, collected, stored, and/or reviewed by immoderate existent oregon erstwhile worker of the Department of Justice, from January 1, 2024 done the day the hunt is conducted.

The DHS petition is geared toward correspondence, specified arsenic emails, chats, and instant messages, arsenic good arsenic meetings, calendar entries, telephone calls, travel, events attended, and appointments for a laundry database of Trump medication unit — including visitant logs and morals determinations.

The DHS suit besides clarifies that this petition includes idiosyncratic accounts arsenic good arsenic governmental accounts, idiosyncratic unit reporting to the custodians and correspondents, and immoderate known aliases oregon nicknames "as good arsenic their organizational oregon firm affiliations."

The DOJ suit notes immoderate aboriginal responses — including acknowledgment of the petition by subagencies connected 3 antithetic occasions successful February. After that, however, the nonprofit says it had to scope retired for a effect — aft being denied expedited processing — successful bid to ascertain when, exactly, the subagencies estimated the petition would beryllium complete.

One of 4 subagencies said the petition would beryllium completed "within 12 months," the suit says. The 2nd subagency declined to reply successful presumption of measurable clip but said the petition was presently "pending down 109 different requests." Finally, the DOJ's Office of Information Policy (OIP) estimated completion by "November 15, 2027, 650 days from the receipt" of the request. A 4th subagency did not yet respond to the group, the plaintiff says.

The filing puts a good constituent connected the lengthiest estimate, astatine length:

To date, Plaintiff has yet to person immoderate accusation regarding the authorities of the hunt for responsive records. The lone accusation Plaintiff has learned is that OIP believes 650 days is an overly optimistic estimation for however agelong it should instrumentality to disclose accusation from the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General regarding what role, if any, they played successful clearing the mode for Thomas Homan to go a elder advisor to the President little than a twelvemonth aft accepting $50,000 successful currency successful a insubstantial container from undercover FBI agents.

The DHS suit posits a spot little attraction to detail.

Again, the bureau — and the applicable subagencies — acknowledged receipt of the group's FOIA request, according to the lawsuit.

In presumption of responsiveness to the details of the request, however, lone Customs and Border Protection (CBP) replied — to accidental they would beryllium limiting their hunt to precisely 1 idiosyncratic successful the custodian list, Special Agent Gregory Bovino.

But aft that, the agencies person mostly been soundless oregon reliant connected signifier letters, according to the lawsuit.

"To date, nary of the agencies person made a substantive determination regarding DDF's request, nor person they provided immoderate responsive documents," the suit reads. "None of the agencies person made a determination regarding DDF's petition for expedited processing. Only DHS has made a determination regarding DDF's petition for a interest waiver, which the bureau granted."

In each case, the plaintiffs are asking a justice to regularisation that the agencies violated statutory FOIA deadlines, "wrongfully withheld requested bureau documents," and to contented a imperishable injunction directing the defendants to disclose the documents successful question. They are besides seeking attorneys fees.