【By Observer Net, Wang Yi】On September 21 local time, multiple foreign media outlets quoted sources saying that Tom Homan, the White House border chief appointed by President Trump, was caught receiving $50,000 in cash during a FBI undercover operation in 2024, and also hinted at being willing to help these enterprise executives played by FBI agents obtain government contracts.

Later, with the Trump administration coming into power, this bribery investigation initiated by the previous Biden administration's Department of Justice and FBI was quickly put on hold, and finally officially closed recently.

According to Microsoft National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC), several sources said that the investigation into Homan began around August 2024. At that time, a suspect in another national security case confessed that Homan was receiving bribes from companies, claiming he could help these companies obtain government contracts after the Trump administration came into power.

To verify this claim, federal prosecutors in western Texas worked with the FBI to conduct an undercover operation. Undercover agents posed as contractor managers and met with Homan and his business partner, who was running a consulting company providing immigration services at the time.

In a meeting on September 20 last year, a hidden camera recorded Homan receiving a bag containing $50,000 in cash. Homan also promised in a recording that he would help the company represented by the undercover agent obtain contracts with the next government after joining the Trump administration.

According to sources, the FBI and Department of Justice did not take action immediately at the end of 2024 because they wanted to continue monitoring Homan to determine whether he would be appointed by Trump and fulfill his promise after the Trump administration took office.

However, after Trump returned to the White House in 2025, high-ranking officials in the Trump-appointed Department of Justice were dissatisfied with the case. According to sources, Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general of the Department of Justice, told department officials after receiving a briefing in early February that he did not support continuing the investigation and called it an example of a "deep state" operation, accusing unelected officials of secretly manipulating the government. Soon after, Bove also ordered the dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and the Department of Justice subsequently largely disbanded the team involved in the Homan investigation.

Afterwards, six sources told MSNBC that the case was indefinitely postponed. Two of the sources said that in recent weeks, after FBI Director Kash Patel requested an update on the case, the Trump administration formally ended the related investigation.

Trump and "Border Baron" Tom Homan, Visual China

Homan denied all allegations to American media "NewsNation" on the 20th, calling the reports about him accepting bribes "nonsense".

On the 21st, Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch issued a joint statement responding, saying, "This matter originated from the previous administration, and after a comprehensive review by the FBI and Department of Justice prosecutors, no credible evidence of criminal activity was found," and "The Department of Justice must focus its resources on addressing the real threats to the American people, rather than baseless investigations. Therefore, the investigation was closed."

White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson harshly criticized the investigation, calling it an "open political investigation" with no evidence of any illegal activities, which again shows that "the Biden administration's Department of Justice is using resources to target Trump allies." She also defended Homan, calling him a "professional law enforcement officer and lifelong civil servant who is making outstanding contributions to President Trump and the country." The White House also stated that Homan did not participate in any contract awards.

Homan worked in U.S. immigration enforcement for 30 years. He was promoted by former President Obama in 2013 as the head of a department under the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2017, Trump appointed Homan as the acting director of ICE, during which he implemented the controversial "zero tolerance" policy, resulting in thousands of undocumented immigrant children being separated from their families. Because of this, his ICE director nomination was opposed by Democratic senators, and he eventually announced his retirement in April 2018.

After retiring, Homan founded his own consulting company, highlighting cooperation with departments such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice, stating, "We have a real record of opening doors and building good relationships for our clients, signing millions of dollars in federal contracts for private companies."

During this period, Homan has maintained close ties with Trump and his advisors. After Trump announced his bid for president again, Homan frequently accompanied him at rallies. Homan also publicly claimed that if elected, he would help Trump vigorously push for the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

According to the New York Times, sources said that when the Trump team was deciding who to appoint for government positions, law enforcement officials informed them of the case. However, Trump still appointed Homan as the "border czar".

The newspaper pointed out that this incident raised questions about whether the Trump administration tried to protect an official from legal punishment, and whether they considered his misconduct when appointing Homan.

However, since Homan was not a public official at the time of receiving the $50,000, whether he accepted a bribe is legally in a gray area.

Four sources told MSNBC that several FBI and Department of Justice officials believed that based on Homan's act of receiving cash and his clear promise to assist in signing contracts, they had sufficient evidence to indicate that he was suspected of colluding in bribery.

But some legal experts analyzed that Homan's case was unusual. He received money while not being a public official, and Trump was not yet president at the time, clearly not meeting the standards for bribery charges. Unless Homan reconfirmed his promise after taking office or showed in some way that he had a plan to fulfill the agreement, investigators could not make a strong bribery charge.

Nevertheless, experts said that anyone improperly influencing federal contracts for money, regardless of whether they are a public official or whether they fulfilled the promise, constitutes a crime. They said such individuals may be charged with conspiracy or fraud.

Randall Eliason, former head of the public corruption prosecution unit in the Washington D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office and former professor of white-collar crime law, pointed out, "If a person is not yet a public official but expects to become one, receives a bribe to exchange for future official actions, he may not be directly prosecuted for bribery. However, he can still be charged with conspiracy to bribe, because in a conspiracy charge, the crime itself is the agreement to commit a future crime."

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7552870408622506548/

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