Trump Judge's Role in Bribery Scandal Comes Back to Haunt Him

Summary

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Legal AF: “Trump Judge's Role in Bribery Scandal Comes Back to Haunt Him”

Date: January 1, 2026
Hosts: Michael Popok, Ben Meiselas | Guest: Karen Friedman Agnifilo

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles the explosive revelations around Judge Amel Bovey, a Trump-appointed judge currently serving on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and his alleged role in covering up a bribery scandal connected to Tom Homan, Trump’s would-be immigration czar. Host Michael Popok walks through newly surfaced memos, the political maneuvering to avoid FBI background checks, and a House hearing where top figures struggle to answer for the administration’s actions. The discussion highlights the intersection of law and politics in the Trump era, focusing on potential impeachment and removal of Bovey.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Judge Amel Bovey’s Exposure in the Tom Homan Bribery Scandal

• Bovey’s vulnerability: Michael Popok explains that even as a sitting federal judge, Amel Bovey can be impeached and removed (“Even though Amel Bovey is on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, he can be impeached. He can be removed.” — [02:28]).
• The memo: A newly surfaced internal DOJ memo documented that Tom Homan was caught in an FBI sting accepting a $50,000 bribe, and that Bovey was made aware of the offense before Trump’s inauguration ([02:50]).
• Reaction to the memo: According to witnesses, during a transition meeting, Bovey grimaced and rolled his eyes upon learning of Homan’s involvement in the sting — a reaction that becomes a running joke in the episode (“He grimaced, rolled his eyes, because in the one page internal memo, it said that Tom Holman… was caught in a sting operation on a $50,000 bribe.” — [03:20]).

2. Covering Up and Sidestepping FBI Vetting

• Transition Team Scheming: The Trump transition, led by figures like Susie Weil and Howard Lutnick, delayed signing agreements with the FBI for required background checks. Popok argues this was to permit questionable appointees like Homan to slip through undetected ([04:20]).
• Private background checks: The administration tried to use private investigators instead of the FBI (“This was a scheme of Boris Epstein, a criminal defense lawyer of Donald Trump that was adopted by the presidential transition team.” — [04:45]).

3. Repercussions for Bovey and the Broader Justice System

• Impeachment prospects: Popok asserts that Bovey’s knowledge and alleged concealment of the bribery could be grounds for his impeachment (“If it turns out that he obstructed justice and he allowed a bribed official to enter the administration through the front door, he should be impeached and removed as a federal judge.” — [05:56]).
• Wider pattern: Bovey’s ties to other questionable DOJ actions under Trump, such as misuse of the Alien Enemies Act, raises further alarm about corruption ([05:15]).

4. Media and Political Denials

• White House Response: Press Secretary Caroline Levitt denies all allegations, claiming Homan never took the money and calling the FBI inquiry a political attack (“Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you're referring to. So you should get your facts straight, number one.” — [07:42]).
• Popok’s Satirical Take: Popok sarcastically describes Homan and other Trump defenders: “If SNL was doing a skit and they had a picture of a smiling Tom Holman, they would say, here's a picture of Tom Holman watching an orphanage burn down” ([08:48]).

5. Homan’s Public Denial (and Non-Denial)

• Homan on Record: In a recorded TV interview, Homan denies taking the $50,000 but provides an evasive explanation, insisting he recused himself from contract work and took a pay cut to ‘serve the nation.’
  • “I didn't take $50,000 from anybody.” — Tom Homan [11:01]
  • “I recused myself from any discussions of any contract... because I used to have a company that did consulting.” — Tom Homan [11:09]
  • “What people don't talk about is I took a significant huge pay cut to come back and serve my nation.” — Tom Homan [11:20]

6. Congressional Oversight — The Heated Exchange

• Pam Bondi Under Scrutiny: Senator Adam Schiff questions Bondi (Attorney General) at a Senate hearing about Homan’s bribe, the existence of an audio/video record, and the veracity of the administration’s denials. Bondi dodges direct answers, at one point turning the questioning back on Schiff.
  • Schiff: “Was that true... when she denied Homan took the money? Did he take the money?” — [14:47]
  • Bondi: “As I stated earlier, I was not in office. I was not confirmed.” — [14:52]
  • Schiff: “Will you support a request by this committee to provide that tape or tapes to the committee? Yes or no?” — [15:43]
  • Bondi: “You can talk to Director Patel about that.” — [15:46]
  • Schiff: “I guess the answer is you won't support that request.” — [16:26]

7. National Security Implications

• Need for background checks: Popok argues the point of FBI background checks is to prevent corrupt or compromised individuals from gaining access to sensitive government positions (“The reason we want FBI background checks to [be] done properly is we want to make sure people aren't Russian assets, Chinese assets, terrorists, or corrupt people that take bribes to come into government.” — [16:29]).
• Trump’s preferences: Ultimately, Popok charges that Trump’s willingness to bypass vetting created a pathway for corruption.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bovey and Impeachment ([02:28]):
  “Even though Amel Bovey is on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, he can be impeached. He can be removed... he should be the subject and a target of an impeachment and removal process because of his role in trying to cover up a bribery scandal at the highest levels of the Department of Justice when he was there.”
  — Michael Popok

• On the FBI Sting Operation ([03:15]):
  “They went and pushed a $50,000 cash filled bag of kava, a restaurant bright yellow bag takeout, pushed it across the table in return for this quid pro quo...”
  — Michael Popok

• On Homan’s Character ([08:48]):
  “If Saturday Night Live was doing a skit and they had a picture of a smiling Tom Holman, they would say, here's a picture of Tom Holman watching an orphanage burn down... always is talking about separating families, making people disappear...”
  — Michael Popok

• Homan’s Denial ([11:01]):
  “I didn't take $50,000 from anybody.”
  — Tom Homan

• On Trump’s Destructive Hiring Practices ([16:29]):
  “When you have a criminally insane occupant of the White House in the Oval Office, this is what you get. Let them in. Forget the national security checks.”
  — Michael Popok

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Important Timestamps

• [02:28] — Michael Popok introduces the revelations about Judge Amel Bovey’s involvement and threat of impeachment.
• [03:15-05:40] — Details of the Tom Homan FBI sting, the bribery, and Trump team’s targeted circumvention of FBI background checks.
• [07:35-08:45] — White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt strongly denies the bribery allegations at a press conference.
• [11:01-11:39] — Tom Homan gives a public denial of taking the bribe (notably evasive).
• [13:53-16:29] — Senate hearing: Senator Adam Schiff grills Attorney General Pam Bondi and Press Secretary Levitt over the Homan scandal and demands evidence.

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Tone and Style

• Direct, satirical, and hard-hitting: Popok’s trademark style is both analytical and laced with biting sarcasm, especially when lampooning Trump-era officials.
• Critical of Trump administration: The hosts highlight the intersection of law and politics with a decided skepticism toward Trump’s ethics and procedures.

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Conclusion

This Legal AF episode offers a blistering breakdown of Judge Amel Bovey’s entanglement in a high-level bribery scandal and the Trump administration’s systematic evasion of accountability. With congressional oversight ramping up and the media spotlight intensifying, Popok and the team suggest impeachment may be the only way to restore trust. The underlying warning resounds: when basic vetting is disregarded at the highest levels, democracy and security are put at grave risk.

Transcript

[Michael Popak]

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[Michael Popak]

Even though Amel Bovey is on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, he can be impeached. He can be removed. And based on some new reporting involving Tom Homan and his bribery scandal, it just broke on Emma. Now I think Amel Bovey better watch himself. I think he's he should be the subject and a target of a impeachment and removal process because of his role in trying to cover up a bribery scandal at the highest levels of the Department of Justice when he was there. I'm Michael Popak. You're on Midas Touch Network and on Legal af. Let's get down to the new story. We've been reporting for quite some time about a bribery scandal that hit about three months ago. Turns out in September of 2024, Tom Holman was the target of an undercover FBI sting, Operation Contrast, conducted in Texas to try to get him to take a bribe in return for steering federal contracts to who he thought were federal contractors but were FBI agents. That was at the very end of the Biden administration just a couple of months before the election and it was arranged. We know more details through a colleague and a former ICE official that worked with Tom Holman, who basically said Tom Holman was on the take and the FBI decided to test it took them about a year to get it off the ground and they went and pushed a $50,000 cash filled bag of kava, a restaurant bright yellow bag takeout, pushed it across the table in return for this quid pro quo. The Trump administration has been reeling, trying to deny it ever since. And now we've got the new report involving email Bovey, that there was an internal memo, one page that the Department of Justice senior officials prepared for a male Bovey during the transition sometime in early January of last year before the inauguration, and that people in the room said email Bovey grimaced and rolled his eyes. Now, by the way, I'll put up a photo of him here. It's hard to tell when he's grimacing and not grimacing. Don't you, don't you agree he looks like grimace from McDonald's? But he grimaced, rolled his eyes, because in the one page internal memo, it said that Tom Holman, who Donald Trump wanted to be a border czar, was caught in a sting operation on a $50,000 bribe. And even Emil Bovey, former criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump, former U.S. attorney, assistant U.S. attorney, knew that. That's not a good look. But now we have the explanation as to why Donald Trump's incoming administration and presidential transition team, headed by Susie Weil, incoming chief of staff, and Howard Lutnick, incoming commerce Secretary, didn't want the FBI doing background checks for anyone, despite presidential transition law that required them to enter into agreements to subject their incoming administration officials to an FBI background check. When they finally stopped jerking around on purpose and argued that they were going to do it with private background investigators. This was a scheme of Boris Epstein, a criminal defense lawyer of Donald Trump that was adopted by the presidential transition team. They didn't sign the FBI agreement until 3rd December. Gave them 4 weeks, 5 weeks to complete background checks on hundreds and hundreds of people coming into the administration. Now, I think I know why. They knew there were going to be flies in the ointment, briberies in the candidates, if you know what I mean, including for Tom Holman. But the email Bovey thing is more than troubling. Amel Bovey is already at the heart of another corrupt practice of the Department of Justice and Trump administration to use the Alien Enemies act to disappear people in March and get them away from federal oversight by federal court jurisdiction. In a case involving Chief Judge Boasberg in D.C. he's likely a prime witness if and when that contempt proceeding ever gets off the ground. And I just got. I have news for people that are defenders of Donald Trump and Amel Bovey. The fact that Donald Trump tried to insulate him and stash him by kicking him upstairs with lifetime appointment as an Article 3 judge does not save him. He's had to testify already and file affidavits in the Boseberg case. And if it turns out that he obstructed justice and he allowed a bribed official to enter the administration through the front door, he should be impeached and removed as a federal judge. And just because it happened before he was a federal judge but found out later doesn't mean that it can't be used against him. Now, let me get into the details that we now know. But before I do of the bribe, let's remember that the Trump administration and its propagandists like Carolyn Levitt have been denying the effectively the existence of the internal memo since the beginning. Here's Carolyn Levitt grimacing her way through a press conference and saying it's all a hoax. Yeah, the internal memo is a hoax. Let's play the clip.

[Caroline Levitt]

Thanks, Caroline. So, too, on the Hillman investigation, I mean, can you just speak to did the president ask the Justice Department to close the case, and does Homa have to return the $50,000? Well, Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you're referring to. So you should get your facts straight, number one. Number two, this was another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump's strongest and most vocal supporters in the midst of a presidential campaign. You had FBI agents going undercover to try and entrap one of the President's top allies and supporters, someone who they knew very well would be taking a government position months later. Mr. Homan did absolutely nothing wrong. And even the President's Department of Justice, even Cash Patel's FBI looked into this just to make sure. They had a number of different prosecutors and FBI agents who looked into this. They found zero evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing in the White House. And the President stand by Tom Homan 100%, because he did absolutely nothing wrong. And he is a brave public servant who has done a phenomenal job in helping the President shut down the border.

[Michael Popak]

Now, Tom Holman, some people might be scratching their heads. Which guy is that? Oh, you know, that's the guy that. If Saturday Night Live was doing a skit and they had a picture of a smiling Tom Holman, they would say, here's a picture of Tom Holman watching an orphanage burn down. He's the. He's that nice guy that always is talking about separating families, making people disappear, you know, leaking information to the public to make them feel badly about somebody that the Trump administration is going after. You know, that guy. So, in fact, here's a clip of Tom Homan rolling his eyes about the 50,000. Now, let me tell you something. He never gave the 50,000 back. He never gave the $50,000 of taxpayer dollars back. How did he report it on his tax return? A gift donation? Because when the FBI's Public Integrity Section, and we don't have a Public Integrity section anymore at the Department of Justice, that was mothballed and. And chloroformed by the Trump administration, But when we did, and people like Jack Smith used to work there, they ran this. They ran this bribery sting operation against Tom Holman, but the target wasn't originally Tom Holman. They were targeting somebody else. So they were talking to Julian Calderas. Julian Calderas worked with Homan in ice, was a colleague of his, and. And told the FBI that if he gave Tom Homan a million dollars and he would direct contracts towards somebody he thought was a federal contractor, took him a year. The FBI, they decided, let's try. So they went with Calderas to a kava restaurant in Texas and pushed in a yellow kava bag, $50,000 across the table of taxpayer dollars. Tom Ohman took it, took it home, still has it. And in return, they talked about getting federal contracts, you know, border patrol contracts, private security contracts, private prison contracts to run detention centers that are private, you know, things like that, that are within his wheelhouse. Now, let me show you a clip of Tom Homan sort of denying that he took the 50,000, but not really. Let's play the clip. I know George Stephanopoulos is one of your best friends. He convicted you on television of a $50,000 bribe.

[Tom Homan]

I didn't take $50,000 from anybody.

[Michael Popak]

How did that get into the mainstream, do you think?

[Tom Homan]

I have no idea. Like, I've been. There's been hit pieces on me since I came back to this administration. There's gotta be 30, 40 hit pieces on me about how I'm involved with contracts and our government contracts, when in fact, day one I came back. I recused myself from any discussions of any contract or any monetary decisions like that because I used to have a company that did consulting. So I cleared myself day one. What people don't talk about is I took a significant huge pay cut to come back and serve my nation. And I'm not enriching myself doing this job.

[Michael Popak]

Does this make you angry that they're.

[Tom Homan]

Coming at you this way? I don't. I don't care what people think about me and have no. Because I know who I am. I work for the greatest president history of this nation in my 20. And we're doing the right thing every day.

[Michael Popak]

Okay?

[Ben Meisellis]

Hey, everybody. Ben Meisellis here from the Midas Touch Network. I wanted to let you know about my podcast partner, Michael Popox new law firm. It's called the Popak Firm. Michael Popo's pursuing his dream of starting his own law firm based on the popular demand by all the Midas mighty and legal a effers who are approaching Michael Popak with their cases and saying, can you help us? And at that time, Popak was not able to. So he went out on his own. He started the Popoc Firm where he is now handling catastrophic injury cases like car accident cases, trucking cases, malpractice cases, big negligence cases, wrongful death cases. So if you or someone you know have a case like this, the consultation with Pope is free. Give them a call. See if you have a case. It's ThePopoc Firm.com ThePopoc Firm.com or you can call 877-popakaF-P-O-P-P o k a f so 1-877-p-o p o k a f. Give Michael Popak a call. And I'm really proud of you, Popak. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting in.

[Michael Popak]

Now. There has been oversight over this. The Democrats providing it. Pam Bondi, remember her? Speaking of grimace, thinking of the grimace from McDonald's that's, that's Pam Bondi's adopted resting face. That's, That's. That's Attorney General. Resting face for her is like the grimace. You know, it's always this squinty, smarmy, sarcastic. You know, if she was a child in school, you'd send her to the principal for making that face. Trying to get her way through her Senate Oversight Committee hearings. And they asked her. Senator Schiff in particular, asked her about the bribe scandal and the 50,000 that didn't go well for her, even though she tried to attack Schiff. Let's play the clip.

[Senator Adam Schiff]

Two weeks ago, four major media outlets reported that Tom Homan, the president's top deportation official working in the White House, took 50,000 in cash in a bag from undercover FBI agents in September 2024, just over a year ago, according to these reports, Homan indicated he would facilitate securing contracts in exchange for money once he was in office in a future Trump administration. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt denied homan took the 50,000, telling a reporter, quote, Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you're referring to, so you should get your facts straight. So today, I hope you can help us get our facts straight. Was that true, what the White House press secretary said when she denied Homan took the money? Did he take the money?

[Caroline Levitt]

Senator Schiff, as I stated earlier, I was not in office. I was not confirmed.

[Michael Popak]

We.

[Caroline Levitt]

When that was handled. So does that Deputy Attorney General Blanch and Director Patel said that there was no evidence that Tom Homan committed a crime. Yet now you're putting his picture up to slander himself.

[Senator Adam Schiff]

I'm putting his picture up showing an interview he gave with, I think, Fox in which he was asked explicitly about these allegations that he took a $50,000 bribe, and he refused to answer. You were asked by my colleague from Vermont whether you will support providing a video or audio tape if it exists. Mr. Homan taking 50,000 in bribe money from the FBI. Will you support a request by this committee to provide that tapered tapes to the committee? Yes or no?

[Caroline Levitt]

Senator Schiff, you can talk to Director Patel about that.

[Senator Adam Schiff]

Well, I'm talking to you about it. You're. You're the. You're the Attorney General. This will be your decision. Will you support.

[Caroline Levitt]

You have to tell me what is my decision, what is not my decision.

[Senator Adam Schiff]

And you don't have to. You don't have to try to.

[Caroline Levitt]

You think you got a gotcha with.

[Senator Adam Schiff]

Tom Holm and our partner, excuse me.

[Caroline Levitt]

He'S been out there fighting for our country since Donald Trump took office.

[Senator Adam Schiff]

I'm trying to ask you a question regular order, please. And you don't have to defer to the FBI director to pass the buck. So I'm asking you, will you support a request so that the committee or indeed I believe the American people should be able to see that video or audio tape? Will you support that request?

[Caroline Levitt]

Will you apologize to Donald Trump?

[Senator Adam Schiff]

I guess the answer is you won't support that request.

[Michael Popak]

The bottom line is besides email Bovet, who knew about the internal memo of the Trump administration? And how did this guy get security clearance? How did he get security clearance? The reason we want FBI background checks to done properly is we want to make sure people aren't Russian assets, Chinese assets, terrorists, or corrupt people that take bribes to come into government. But when you have the felon in chief, this is, this is the dark side, people. If you voted for Donald Trump, this is what you get. He's never saw a crime that he didn't look past or he didn't pardon. You know, when you have a criminally insane occupant of the White House in the Oval Office, this is what you get. Let them in. Forget the national security checks. Why do we need. Why do we need national security clearances? I'll give it to him. See, the president has the ability to grant clearances even without an FBI check, and that's obviously what happened. But the people demand information and we demand to know why Tom Holman is still in the government. Why do I have to hear him opening his pie hole about cases like Abrego Garcia and making families disappear when he shouldn't be in the government at all? So we're going to continue to follow it all right here on Midas Touch. You got great news for the coming new year. We're doing a build on legal AF substack. 30% off on substack membership. Annual membership. 30% off drops it to about $6.50 a year. A thousand people have taken advantage of my sale in the last 10 days. I appreciate each and every one of them. We just did Legal AF YouTube. Got it to a million subscribers in about a year. We're on our way to 2 million. These are the ways to get us ready for 2026. Hit the subscribe button for Legal AF YouTube. Become a paid member of Legal AF Substack or just check out its content first. Try it out as a free member for a while if you like. I'm sure you will. And then you'll see the advantage of becoming a paid member. And helping us stay on the air and defend us against an out of control Trump administration that's trying to crush independent media. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal af? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for it Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from ligoleyeoff are there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe the holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online, and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US based restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed your money back. Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com podcast terms apply high interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face unless you power up with a SOFI personal loan. A Sofi personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low fixed rate monthly payment. It's even got so many superspeed since you could get the funds as soon as the same day you sign. Visit sofi.com power to learn more. That's sofi.com pow e r loans originated by Sofa Bank NA member fdic terms and conditions apply. Nmls 696891.