Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Tuesday he has submitted a tip to the Justice Department’s new fraud whistleblower program asking investigators to probe White House border czar Tom Homan.
The tip line was set up to incentivize the public to report on waste in government benefit programs.
But Mr. Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, said it should also be put to work sniffing out the facts behind public reports last year that Mr. Homan accepted $50,000 in a targeted sting operation where he was asked to fix government contracts.
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“I ask that you investigate whether Homan pocketed the $50,000 in taxpayer funds,” Mr. Whitehouse wrote in his submission to the DOJ.
President Trump announced the tip line last week, promising a 1% commission to Americans for reporting on fraudulent spending. He said he personally would be the arbiter settling disputes over who gets paid.
The idea of turning the tip line against the president’s team quickly grew online, where people suggested all manner of targets in the administration.
Mr. Whitehouse said he would forgo the payout in this case.
The senator has been obsessed with the report about Mr. Homan and has even confronted senior government officials during Senate hearings.
That included a confrontation with Todd Blanche during his confirmation hearing to be attorney general this past summer.
“I’m not aware that that’s true,” Mr. Blanche said of the senator’s contention.
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