What To Know About Probe Into Trump’s Border Czar

Topline

Border Czar Tom Homan is under scrutiny after an FBI investigation into his possibly accepting bribes was quietly quashed by the Trump DOJ but the details released in a blockbuster report—sparking outcry from Democrats.

White House Border czar Tom Homan speaks to reporters near the White House on July 30 in Washington, DC.

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Key Facts

The FBI under the Biden administration was investigating whether Homan was accepting bribes in exchange for promising to give border security companies government contracts after Trump won the 2024 election, MSNBC first reported Saturday.

In Sept. 2024, Homan allegedly accepted $50,000—in a bag from the fast-casual chain Cava—at a meeting point in Texas from FBI officials who were posing as government contractors, after the now-Trump appointee reportedly “indicated he would facilitate securing contracts for them” once Trump took office, according to reports.

MSNBC wrote that the transaction was captured on video cameras, while The New York Times reports the audio was recorded, though the details of those alleged recordings have not been reported.

The government did not charge Homan at the time and instead waited to see if he would grant the contracts once he took office, MSNBC reported, but after Trump’s inauguration, the investigation stalled and was officially closed.

The Times reports the FBI closed the probe over doubts it would be able to prove to a jury the transaction constituted bribery, but another source told the Times the investigation ended “prematurely” before officials could gather sufficient evidence, and the episode has raised concern the Trump administration intentionally ended the case because of Homan’s status in the administration.

The Trump administration confirmed the existence of the investigation and that it was shut down, but decried it as a politically motivated and “baseless” probe designed to harm the president and his allies, and Homan has denied the allegations.

What Has Homan Said About The Bribery Claims?

Homan told local outlet WWNY there’s “nothing to” the allegations against him.

Why Was Homan Investigated?

The government’s investigation into Homan came out of a “long-running counterintelligence investigation” that didn’t target Homan directly, in which a subject suggested Homan was promising government contracts in a future Trump administration in exchange for cash, according to The Times and MSNBC. The Washington Post reports FBI agents, who were undercover, met with a chief executive of a immigration-related business that contracts services to the government as part of that initial probe. That executive told the undercover agents that they should offer Homan $1 million in exchange for the promise of a government contract, prompting the FBI’s plan to concoct a cash deal with Trump’s future border czar.

What Has The Trump Administration Said?

“This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors,” FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement responding to the MSNBC report, adding the Trump administration’s DOJ “found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.” The DOJ’s “resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations,” the officials continued. “As a result, the investigation has been closed.” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson more directly slammed the investigation as “blatantly political,” claiming in a statement the probe was “yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies” and saying Homan “is doing a phenomenal job.”

Could Homan Face Charges?

Homan was never formally charged, and The Times reports prosecutors found the evidence was “insufficient” to find Homan had committed crimes like bribery, citing sources who said it would be difficult to show Homan “had agreed to do any specific acts in exchange for the money.” Thatt Homan was not actually a government official at the time of allegedly accepting the money could also prove to be an issue, the Times noted, and MSNBC reports that investigators were holding off on bringing any charges until Homan took office and they could see if he actually followed through with granting the government contracts he allegedly promised. Legal experts told MSNBC that Homan’s promise to secure contracts in the future may still have constituted conspiracy to commit bribery, however. “In a conspiracy charge, the crime is the agreement to commit a criminal act in the future,” Randall Eliason, who previously led public corruption prosecutions for the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington D.C., told MSNBC.

What Have Democrats Said?

Democrats have slammed Homan in the wake of the reports over the alleged $50,000 transaction, pointing to the reports as evidence of “rampant corruption” and calling for Homan to be fired. “Who’s the illegal now @RealTomHoman,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on X on Saturday. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has called for an investigation into the reports, calling for the FBI to release the recordings of the alleged transaction and writing Monday, “The public has a right to know every detail of what happened.”

Who Is Tom Homan?

Homan is a former border patrol agent who previously led deportations under the Obama administration before being appointed as the acting head of ICE during Trump’s first administration. He was tapped to be Trump’s “border czar” after turning to the private sector during the years between Trump’s presidencies, launching a consulting business that worked with companies seeking immigration-related contracts from the government, including lobbying on their behalf. He also contributed to the controversial policy blueprint Project 2025. Prior to the latest reports about his alleged $50,000 payday, Homan had previously generated controversy for working on Trump’s deportations after working with and being paid by some of the key private companies who work with the government on immigration, such as the GEO Group, which operates detention facilities, and construction company Fisher Investments, which has helped with border wall construction. Financial disclosures show Homan earned a $360,000 salary from his consulting work, part of nearly $500,000 in employment assets he reported overall, and received compensation from the GEO Group’s GEO Care division as a consultant. Homan has insisted he will not deal with contracting outside companies in his role as border czar, and has shuttered his consulting business while he’s in the Trump administration.

What Have Republicans Said?

While Democrats have expressed outrage, Republicans have so far shown little concern over the reports of Homan’s alleged bribery, suggesting the reports are unlikely to move the needle or pressure the Trump administration to take action against the border czar. “We DO NOT CARE,” right-wing journalist Megyn Kelly posted on social media Saturday in response to the MSNBC report. “Don’t bother @RealTomHoman he’s a national treasure.” The commentator went on to claim there is “NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE” of wrongdoing against Homan, adding in a message to Democrats, “We do not trust you. We only care about defeating you.”

News Peg

The reports of the DOJ dropping its investigation into Homan comes as the Trump administration and its DOJ faces increasing scrutiny for seeking legal charges against the president’s political enemies. The president replaced former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert in the Eastern District of Virginia on Saturday, reportedly because Siebert declined to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James due to a lack of evidence she did anything wrong. The president then directly appealed to Attorney General Pam Bondi to more aggressively investigate his adversaries like James, former FBI Director James Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., in a Truth Social post on Saturday, claiming “nothing is being done” and telling Bondi, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.” Trump has long vowed to seek retribution against his political enemies and Democrats have feared he would use the DOJ to go after his political rivals, eroding the traditional distance between the White House and Justice Department that has existed in past administrations so as to ensure the nation’s prosecutors operate free from political influence.