By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday launched investigations into the closure of a Justice Department bribery probe of White House border czar Tom Homan, after Reuters and other media outlets reported he was caught on a recording accepting $50,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent.
Democrats on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees sent letters to top Justice Department and FBI officials, questioning the DOJ’s decision under President Donald Trump to close the investigation and demanding the release of any recordings from the sting operation.
“Such allegations of high-level corruption and cover-up demand your close cooperation with congressional oversight and extraordinary transparency to restore public trust, including the public release of key evidence,” Senate Democrats, led by Adam Schiff of California, wrote in their letter.
The investigation into Homan, which began last year, examined whether, in anticipation of serving in a second Trump administration, he promised to influence immigration-related government contracts.
A recording captured Homan accepting $50,000 in cash in a bag, sources told Reuters.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, both Trump appointees, have said the probe “found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing”. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt denied that Homan accepted the payments.
The letters from Schiff and Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, also seek any communications related to the investigation between Justice Department leaders and Trump and other White House staff.
Lawmakers also raised concerns that Homan’s business interests may influence immigration policy in the Trump administration, which has secured major increases in funding for detention centers and law enforcement efforts.
Democrats are in the minority in both the House and Senate, meaning they cannot compel the Justice Department to turn over any material without Republican support.
The Department hs escalated investigations into several Trump critics and rivals, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI director James Comey and Schiff himself, whom the Trump administration has accused of making misleading mortgage submissions. Schiff has called the allegations baseless.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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