Recording Seemed to Catch Border Chief Accepting Bribe

After appearing to be caught on audio tape accepting $50,000 from undercover agents, US border czar Tom Homan became the target of a federal bribery probe—until the Trump administration shut the investigation down, citing lack of evidence. Homan was being considered for a senior immigration role in a future Trump administration when he was recorded taking the money in Texas in September 2024, the Washington Post reports. The FBI agents were posing as businessmen wanting help with immigration-related contracts if Donald Trump returned to the presidency.

The Justice Department started a bribery investigation into Homan, who was a private citizen at the time, in the last months of the Biden administration. It sprang from a counterintelligence investigation that had not involved Homan. The agents turned over the cash in a bag from the food chain Cava, per the New York Times. The Trump administration shut the investigation down this year. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement Saturday that their agencies "found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing."

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the investigation was an example of the Justice Department targeting Trump allies, adding that Homan was not involved in contract decisions and continues to serve as a law enforcement officer. Legal experts noted that because Homan was not a government official at the time and Trump had not been elected, bringing bribery charges would have been difficult. They also pointed to a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that raised the bar for proving public corruption. There was internal disagreement in government about whether to bring charges, per the Post.