Trump’s border czar accepted $50K in cash bribe in FBI sting operation
4 Min Read
Sources say Tom Homan was taped taking $50,000 from agents, yet Trump’s Justice Department ended the inquiry, sparking outrage from Democrats.
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White House border czar Tom Homan speaks with reporters at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Washington (AP)
Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, was reportedly caught on FBI surveillance accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover agents posing as contractors, according to a new MSNBC report.
The incident, recorded in September 2024, took place six weeks before the presidential election. Agents allegedly captured Homan promising to help secure lucrative border security contracts if Trump won a second term.
Six sources told MSNBC that during Joe Biden’s presidency, the Justice Department intended to wait and see if Homan followed through once in office. But after Trump returned to the White House, the investigation stalled, and Trump-appointed officials recently moved to close the case. One senior Justice Department figure reportedly dismissed the probe as a “deep state” operation.
In a joint statement to MSNBC, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “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 statement added that the Department must focus on “real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations,” confirming the case had been shut down.
Wider context
The White House echoed that line, with Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson describing the probe as “blatantly political” and “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.”
According to MSNBC, internal case summaries and sources confirm Homan was videotaped accepting the $50,000 in Texas on September 20, 2024. Four sources said prosecutors believed they had grounds to charge him with conspiracy to commit bribery, though the fact that he was not a public official at the time complicated the legal basis for such charges.
Investigators continued monitoring him after he entered Trump’s administration, reportedly weighing four possible criminal charges: conspiracy, bribery, and two forms of fraud, before the new Justice Department terminated the inquiry.
Backlash from Democrats
Homan, who previously served as acting ICE director during Trump’s first term, was tapped by the president to lead what he described as the largest deportation campaign in US history. Before his appointment, Homan had been a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank central to Project 2025.
The revelations sparked backlash from Democrats. Senator Adam Schiff of California, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on social media: “Border Czar Tom Homan was caught by the FBI accepting bribes – on camera – to deliver government contracts in exchange for $50,000 in cash. Pam Bondi knew. Kash Patel knew. Emil Bove knew. And they made the investigation go away. A corrupt attempt to conceal brazen graft.”
Trump responded angrily online, appearing to pressure Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint White House aide Lindsey Halligan as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia so she could pursue criminal charges against Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both have denied Trump’s repeated allegations of mortgage fraud.
The move came after interim US attorney Erik Siebert was reportedly pushed out on Friday for refusing to charge James, citing insufficient evidence. Trump openly acknowledged firing Siebert for political reasons and later announced Halligan, his former personal lawyer, ex–Miss Colorado USA contestant, and now White House special assistant, would be formally nominated to replace him.
