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President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan was caught on FBI surveillance last year accepting a bag with $50,000 in cash from undercover agents, according to a report published Saturday by The New York Times. The Justice Department under Trump later shut down the case, concluding prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to bring charges.
The September 2024 payment was part of an undercover investigation in which agents, posing as businessmen, sought promises of federal contracts in a possible second Trump term. Though Homan was not the original target, the probe expanded after another subject suggested he could be paid to help secure border security deals, according to the report.
On a tape reviewed by investigators, Homan appeared to indicate he would help the men obtain government contracts if Trump won reelection, The Times reported. The money was handed over inside a bag from the fast-casual chain Cava.
DOJ Closes Case After Trump’s Return
The Justice Department ended the probe early this year, shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Officials cited doubts that prosecutors could prove Homan agreed to a concrete exchange of favors for the cash, and emphasized that he was not in government service at the time.
In a joint statement, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the matter, which began under the Biden administration, was “subject to a full review” but yielded “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,” they wrote.
Homan and White House Dismiss Allegations
Reached by a local affiliate in Carthage, New York, Homan brushed aside the reports. “There’s nothing to it,” he told WWNY.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, blasted the probe as a partisan attack. “This 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,” Jackson said.
Homan’s Rise in Trump’s Orbit
Homan, a career law enforcement officer, previously led Immigration and Customs Enforcement as acting director in Trump’s first term, retiring in 2018 after becoming the public face of the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. He later joined Fox News as a contributor and advised on Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint Trump distanced himself from during his campaign.
Homan’s influence in Trump’s inner circle was evident when he addressed the Republican National Convention in July 2024, delivering a fiery warning to migrants. Days after Trump’s election victory in November, he was formally named the administration’s border czar.
