Complaint Against Department of Justice Filed by Democracy Defenders Fund. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Declaration, # 3 Summons Usao Summons, # 4 Summons DOJ Summons)(Bell, Kevin) (Attachment 1 Replaced on 3/31/2026)
1Plaintiff Democracy Defenders Fund (“Plaintiff” or “DDF”) brings this action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, to compel the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to disclose documents requested pursuant to FOIA. Specifically, Plaintiff is seeking documents related to the now-closed investigation of Border Czar, Thomas (“Tom”) Homan (“Mr. Homan”).
2Defendant has failed to respond to Plaintiff’s FOIA requests within the statutory deadline.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
3This Court has jurisdiction over this action under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). This Court also has federal question jurisdiction over this action under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
4This Court has the authority to grant declaratory relief pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, et seq.
5This Court is a proper venue under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) (providing for venue in FOIA cases where the plaintiff resides, or in the District of Columbia).
6This Court has the authority to award reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E).
PARTIES
7Plaintiff, Democracy Defenders Fund, is a national non-profit section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to restoring American democracy by defending the rule of law, fighting corruption, and protecting elections. DDF is incorporated under the laws of Washington, DC. DDF also regularly publishes reports, updates, and news related to its mission.
8Defendant DOJ is an agency of the United States under 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1). DOJ is headquartered in Washington, DC.
9Defendant is charged with the duty to provide public access to records in its possession consistent with the requirements of the FOIA. Defendant’s refusal to provide Plaintiff with the records requested is a violation of FOIA.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
10Mr. Homan is currently the Trump Administration's “Border Czar,” a senior White House position for which he receives an annual salary of nearly $200,000.1 In this role he develops and announces national policy relating to border enforcement, immigration, and national security. On March 17, Homan sent a letter on behalf of the Administration to Senators Susan Collins and Katie Britt summarizing the White House negotiation strategy and in the current 1 Executive Office of the President, Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel 4 (July 1, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025- Annual-Report-to-Congress-on-White-House-Staff.pdf.
debate over the funding of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”).2 Most recently, he served as the White House’s spokesperson for the decision to deploy agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to airports as supplementary personnel for the Transportation Security Administration.3
11On September 20, 2025, MS NOW reported that Homan accepted $50,000 from undercover FBI Agents posing as prospective government contractors.4 These payments were purportedly for the purpose of securing future contracts with the government if President Trump won re- election.
12According to insider sources quoted in the media, the investigation into Mr. Homan began during the end of the Biden Administration, when a target in a different investigation disclosed that Mr. Homan, who expected an appointment by President Trump, was accepting bribes in exchange for future contracts.5
13According to news reports, the FBI planned to wait to see whether Mr. Homan would deliver on the promised contracts once he was appointed by President Trump.6
14MS NOW reported that it had reviewed documents the agency had created summarizing the tapes and the agency’s conclusions about the strength of the evidence.7 2 Letter from Tom Homan & James Braid to Susan Collins & Katie Britt (Mar. 17, 2026), available at: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000019c-fd78-d71e-a1bd-ff7c45c20000. 3 See Garrett Downs, ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday: Homan, CNBC (Mar. 22, 2026), https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/22/ice-agents-will-be-deployed-to-us-airports- on-monday-homan.html. 4 Carol Leonnig & Ken Dilanian, Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down, MS NOW (Sept. 20, 2025), https://www.ms.now/news/tom-homan-cash-contracts-trump-doj-investigation-rcna232568. 5 Sarah N. Lynch, Trump Aide Homan Accepted $50,000 in Bribery Sting Operation, Sources Say, Reuters, Sept. 22, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-aide-homan-accepted- 50000-bribery-sting-operation-sources-say-2025-09-21/. 6 Leonnig & Dilanian, supra note 3. 7 Id.
15According to sources cited in MS NOW, several law enforcement officials believed that they had a strong case against Mr. Homan based on the recordings.8
16Documents reviewed by MS NOW indicated that officials were considering four criminal charges against Mr. Homan: conspiracy, bribery and two kinds of fraud.9
17Despite the officials’ belief in the strength of their case, after President Trump took office, the FBI shockingly decided to drop the investigation as a “‘deep state’ probe.”10
18According to sources who spoke to MS NOW, former acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was briefed on the case just after Trump took office, and Mr. Bove told Department of Justice officials that he did not support the investigation.11
19After Mr. Bove reportedly became aware of the investigation, the President waived the requirement that Homan complete a background investigation.12
20Both the investigation into Mr. Homan’s alleged corruption and the agency’s decision to drop that investigation implicate important issues of public trust and integrity.
21On September 22, 2025, two days after MS NOW’s reporting on the 2024 bribery sting by the FBI, NOTUS reported that 34 of the 36 attorneys and all but one paralegal who had staffed the 8 Id. 9 Id. 10 Id. 11 Id. 12 Carol Leonnig & Ken Dilanian, Border Czar Tom Homan Didn’t Receive Normal Background Check During Bribery Probe, MS NOW (Dec. 30, 2025), https://www.ms.now/news/border- czar-tom-homan-didnt-receive-normal-background-check-during-bribery-probe. Background investigations of White House officials are generally required under longstanding policies and procedures. President Trump waived the requirement for an investigation prior to issuance of security clearance for a select number of undisclosed individuals serving in the Executive Office of the President on January 20, 2025. See Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel, 90 Fed. Reg. 8477 (Jan. 20, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/memorandum-to-resolve-the-backlog- of-security-clearances-for-executive-office-of-the-president-personnel.
Public Integrity Section of the DOJ Criminal Division in January 2025 were no longer assigned to that office.13 This followed a determination by DOJ to suspend the requirement that the Public Integrity Section be consulted by federal prosecutors and agents in matters involving federal patronage crimes before taking major investigative steps such as interviewing witnesses, issuing grand jury subpoenas, executing search warrants, or conducting surveillance in June 2025.14
22Also on September 22, 2025, Ranking Member Jamie Raskin of the House Committee on the Judiciary, along with 18 colleagues, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kashyap Patel demanding, inter alia, recordings and photographs documenting the meeting between FBI agents or FBI undercover employees and Mr. Homan; communications between any employee at the White House and any employee at either DOJ or FBI regarding the decision to close the investigation; the complete investigative file and subfiles from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, the Public Integrity Section, and the FBI regarding Mr. Homan; and communications between political appointees and career staff, including by Attorney General Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Blanche, Director Patel, and former acting Deputy Attorney General Bove regarding the decision to close the Homan investigation.15 13 Jose Pagliery, The Justice Department Had 36 Lawyers Fighting Corruption Full-Time. Under Trump, It’s Down to Two., NOTUS (Sept. 22, 2025), https://www.notus.org/courts/doj-public- integrity. 14 See DOJ, Justice Manual § 9-85.210 - Violations of Campaign Financing Laws, Federal Patronage Laws, and Corruption of Elections—Consultation Requirement (last visited Mar. 26, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-85000-protection-government-integrity#9-85.210 (“Department leadership is currently revising this section. The Consultation Requirement is suspended while revisions are ongoing. [June 2025]”). 15 Letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin, et al., to Pamela Bondi & Kashyap Patel (Sept. 22, 2025), https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26106193/2025-09-22raskin-nadler-lofgren-et-al-to- bondi-doj-patel-fbi-re-homan.pdf.
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Public U.S. federal court record (district court docket 73112492, document 1). Source via the RECAP Archive (Free Law Project). The same record is available from PACER. Informational only — not legal advice.