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Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents last year, but the investigation was ultimately halted by officials in the Trump administration.
Sources briefed on the matter told the New York Times and MSNBC that Homan was secretly recorded by the FBI accepting a Cava restaurant bag, which contained $50,000 in cash on September 20, 2024.
- Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, was secretly recorded accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents in a 2024 sting operation.
- The FBI probe into Homan was part of a wider counterintelligence investigation but was shut down by the Trump Justice Department.
- Investigators explored possible bribery charges but lacked proof Homan agreed to perform acts in exchange for the cash.
- The investigation stalled after Homan became border czar in 2025 and was officially closed following a full DOJ and FBI review.
The surveillance was connected to a broader counterintelligence probe that initially had nothing to do with Homan, the sources added.
Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan was investigated
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
During a meeting, captured on tape, Homan reportedly accepted the cash and appeared to promise assistance to the undercover agents, whom he believed to be businessmen seeking border security contracts.
While Trump had not yet been elected, people familiar with the matter said that Homan allegedly made assurances to help the men in the future, if Trump won.
The interaction prompted federal investigators to explore possible bribery charges and related offenses, those familiar with the case noted.
However, the Justice Department, under Trump’s control, decided to shut down the probe.
Sources told the NYT that investigators were not sure if they could prove Homan had agreed to be paid in exchange for carrying out certain acts, and they further noted that Homan was not a government official at the time of the meeting.
Image credits: Eric Lee/Getty Images
According to MSNBC, FBI and DOJ officials had been waiting to see if Homan would follow through on his promise after he became border czar, but the case stalled in January and was officially shut down in recent weeks.
Former acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was reportedly briefed on the probe in February 2025 and told department officials he did not support the investigation.
Bove, Trump’s so-called “enforcer” and former personal attorney, was recently confirmed for a lifetime position in the U.S.Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a joint statement saying there had been a full review of the Homan incident.
“This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors,” they said.
“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.”
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement that the probe was a “blatantly political investigation, which found no evidence of illegal activity.”
She further described it as “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.
Since becoming Trump’s border czar in January 2025, Homan has overseen Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Under Trump’s first administration, Homan served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2017 to 2018.
During that time, he oversaw a sharp increase in arrests of undocumented immigrants and played a central role in implementing the “zero tolerance” policy that led to family separations at the U.S.–Mexico border.
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