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ReutersTom Homan, White House Border Czar, was recorded by FBI agents accepting cash in exchange for promises to facilitate government contracts in Trump administration REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The FBI recorded White House Border Czar Tom Homan accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover agents posing as business executives, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation and internal documents reviewed by MSNBC.The undercover operation captured Homan indicating he could help the agents secure government contracts in a second Trump administration. The Justice Department closed the investigation in early 2025 after Trump appointees took control, with one official dismissing it as a “deep state” probe.The federal investigation launched in western Texas during summer 2024 after a subject in a separate case claimed Homan was soliciting payments in exchange for awarding contracts if Trump won the presidential election, according to internal Justice Department documents.Also read: ‘You touch ICE, you’re jailed’: Homan’s zero-tolerance warning amid Trump’s immigration crackdownThe US Attorney’s office in the Western District of Texas worked with the FBI and Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section to investigate “the Border Czar and former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan and others based on evidence of payment from FBI undercover agents in exchange for facilitating future contracts related to border enforcement.”Live EventsOn September 20, 2024, FBI cameras recorded Homan accepting $50,000 in bills at a meeting spot in Texas, according to internal case summaries and sources familiar with the investigation.Investigation closed after Trump takes officeFBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors planned to monitor Homan’s actions once he assumed an official role to determine if he would deliver on alleged promises to steer contracts.The case stalled after Trump’s January inauguration. In recent weeks, Trump appointees officially closed the investigation after FBI Director Kash Patel requested a status update, according to two sources familiar with the matter.Former acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was briefed on the case in late January, or February, 2025, and told Justice Department officials he did not support the investigation, according to two people familiar with the case.Officials defend investigation closureFBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement: “This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations. As a result, the investigation has been closed.”White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson called the probe a “blatantly political investigation, which found no evidence of illegal activity, is yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies rather than investigate real criminals and the millions of illegal aliens who flooded our country.””Tom Homan has not been involved with any contract award decisions. He is a career law enforcement officer and lifelong public servant who is doing a phenomenal job on behalf of President Trump and the country,” Jackson added on behalf of Homan.Also read: National Guard deployment to New York next? Tom Homan drops bombshell on Trump’s crime crackdownLegal experts weigh potential chargesSeveral FBI and Justice Department officials believed they had a strong criminal case against Homan for conspiracy to commit bribery based on recordings of him accepting cash and his apparent promise to assist with contracts, according to four people familiar with the probe.Justice officials considered four potential criminal charges: conspiracy, bribery and two kinds of fraud, according to documents reviewed by MSNBC.”If someone who is not yet a public official, but expects to be, takes bribes in exchange for agreeing to take official acts after they are appointed, they can’t be charged with bribery,” said Randall Eliason, former chief of public corruption prosecutions in the US Attorney’s Office in DC. “But they can be charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. In a conspiracy charge, the crime is the agreement to commit a criminal act in the future.”Legal experts said a person who promises to influence federal contracts when they become a public official cannot be charged under federal bribery statutes until they are named or appointed to such a post. However, seeking money to improperly influence federal contracts remains a crime regardless of official status or whether promises are fulfilled.Homan’s career path from ICE to Border CzarHoman spent three decades in federal border protection and immigration enforcement. The former upstate New York police officer started as a Border Patrol agent in the 1980s and was promoted to supervisory positions.Former President Barack Obama elevated Homan in 2013 to serve as head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation branch. When Trump was first elected in 2017, he appointed Homan as acting head of ICE.In that role, Homan pushed the controversial “zero-tolerance” policy for immigrants seeking to cross the border, resulting in separation of thousands of migrant children from parents and family members.Homan’s nomination to become permanent ICE director stalled in the Senate amid widespread criticism over family-separation policies and Democratic opposition. He announced retirement in April, 2018.Consulting business raised conflict questionsAfter retirement, Homan launched Homeland Strategic Consulting. The firm’s website boasted: “We have a proven track record of opening doors and bringing successful relationships to our clients, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of federal contracts to private companies.”Also read: ‘Expect action in Chicago’: Trump targets sanctuary cities amid nationwide immigration crackdownDuring the Biden administration, Homan remained close to Trump and advisers, working as a Fox News contributor and with the Heritage Foundation while contributing to Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint for Trump’s second term.When Trump announced Homan as border czar on November 11, 2024, the White House adviser role did not require Senate confirmation or extensive FBI background check.Homan’s consulting work and financial ties to border security contractors prompted questions from Democrats about potential conflicts of interest when he became Trump’s top border official in 2025.”As Border Czar, you are uniquely positioned to help your former business client reap a huge windfall from the Trump Administration’s spending on immigration enforcement,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter last month requesting documents and communications with Geo Group, a major immigration detention contractor.Congressional Democrats seek answers on potential conflictsRepresentatives Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, joined Raskin in pressing for answers about Homan’s potential conflicts of interest.Homan said he had no conflict and would take steps to prevent one. He announced plans to shut down his consulting business and remove himself from discussions of specific contracts to avoid appearance of conflicts.The investigation’s closure comes as Homan implements Trump’s promised mass deportation operations as the administration’s top immigration official. Homan openly claimed during the 2024 campaign that he would play a prominent role in carrying out the deportations.Also read: ‘What the hell’s the matter?’: Tom Homan slams Congress, demands action on ‘Big beautiful bill’”Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen,” Homan said at the National Conservatism Conference in July, 2024.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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