Trump aide Homan accepted $64,000 in bribery sting operation, sources say

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan accepted a US$50,000 (S$64,000) bag of cash from an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent in 2024 in a since-closed US Justice Department bribery investigation, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sept 21.

In the alleged scheme, Mr Homan promised immigration-related government contracts when he joined the Trump administration in exchange for the money, the sources said, speaking anonymously to discuss non-public investigations.

FBI director Kash Patel ordered the investigation closed over the summer, one of the sources said. Mr Homan could not be reached for comment. 

“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,” Mr Patel and Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche said in a statement on Sept 21. 

“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.”

The probe into Mr Homan started around August 2024 near the end of President Joe Biden's administration and stemmed from a separate national security investigation, one of the sources told Reuters. 

In that unrelated probe, the target repeatedly brought up Mr Homan, saying he was collecting bribes in exchange for future government contracts, the two sources told Reuters.

An undercover sting operation was set up, and Mr Homan was caught on a recording accepting a US$50,000 bribe in a bag from the restaurant chain Cava, the sources said.

Mr Homan oversees the Trump administration’s campaign of mass deportations of people in the country illegally. The White House said he has not been involved in awarding any contracts. 

“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,” Ms Abigail Jackson, White House deputy press secretary, said in a statement. 

A grand jury probe into Mr Homan in the Western District of Texas was still in its early stages when Mr Trump returned to the White House in January, the sources said. 

Mr Emil Bove, who was acting deputy attorney-general and is now a federal judge, was briefed on the case in February, one of the sources said. In that exchange, he expressed displeasure with the probe and said it was an example of a “deep state” operation, referring to the idea that unelected officials secretly control the government.

The statement from Mr Patel and Mr Blanche said the probe was a “blatantly political investigation” and “yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies”. 

Mr Homan was an official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement under then President Barack Obama and its acting director during Mr Trump’s first term.

During Mr Trump’s four years out of power, Mr Homan ran a consulting business to help companies obtain immigration-related government contracts. 

In the recorded sting operation, Mr Homan claimed he would keep the bribe money in a trust until he had completed his service in the Trump administration, one of the sources said. 

Not long after the meeting when he criticised the Homan probe, Mr Bove separately ordered corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped, prompting career prosecutors to resign. The Justice Department has also largely dismantled the unit that prosecutes corruption cases, which took part in the Homan probe.

The now-closed probe into Mr Homan was reported earlier by MSNBC. REUTERS