MSNBC’s Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian reported over the weekend that in “an undercover operation last year,” Trump’s braggadocious border czar Tom Homan was recorded by the FBI “accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration.” The reporters spoke with multiple people familiar with the probe and were able to review internal documents. In November of 2024, Homan told a conservative convention “Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen. They ain’t seen shit yet. Wait until 2025.” In January on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, Homan addressed people who were in this country without legal status, saying, “So if you're in the country illegally, you got a problem.” In an April speech to the Arizona legislature he said, “If you’re in this country illegally, you should be looking over your shoulder. It’s not OK to enter this country illegally — it’s a crime.” In July, Homan stated that the Trump administration will grant "no amnesty" to undocumented farmworkers, condemning businesses that “knowingly break immigration laws.” Homan doesn’t seem to have the same tough on crime views when it comes to his own conduct.
Fox News Host Laura Ingraham asked him about it on Monday: “Tom, I wanna give you a chance to address this article that came out over the weekend. It was on our always reliable MSNBC, and they said that you took $50,000 in cash in a bag from an undercover FBI agent to help them win government contracts in Trump’s second term.” She continued, “The DOJ said they concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing, but nevertheless, that story is out there, and I imagine you want to respond to that.” Homan only dug himself in deeper. He responded, “I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal,” but he notably didn’t deny accepting the $50,000 in cash or that the cash was payment for his promise to steer federal border contracts to undercover agents posing as business executives. He continued, “Tom Homan isn’t going anywhere, Tom Homan isn’t shutting up, and Tom Homan’s gonna keep doing what he’s doing because working with President Trump is the greatest honor of my life. We’re making this country safer again every day, and we’re gonna keep doing it.” None of that is a denial of the reporting. Homan never said he didn’t take the money, the instinctive reaction you would expect of someone falsely accused. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later denied that Homan took the bribe money, but that raises even more questions. This was an undercover operation, which means that there would be tapes. That’s standard protocol where possible. And Carol Leonnig was quick to defend her reporting, tweeting that the investigative file reflects that Homan accepted the money.
If the White House has it right, there’s an easy way to confirm it. The case is closed. They can release the investigative file, including the tapes. The agents involved could explain what happened. Perhaps there is some legitimate confusion. The White House could easily clear that up if so. But the story has been in circulation since Saturday, and that hasn’t happened. Maybe the Homan file is with the Epstein files? The most likely charge that the Justice Department would have been investigating here is 18 U.S.C. 201, bribery. That statute provides that: “Whoever… being a public official or person selected to be a public official, directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally or for any other person or entity, in return for: (A) being influenced in the performance of any official act; (B) being influenced to commit or aid in committing, or to collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud, on the United States…” It applies to people who have been selected to be public officials, as well as to those who already are, but it would make sense to permit the investigation to continue after Homan entered government service, to build the strongest case possible. What doesn’t make sense—what smacks of the kind of impropriety we’ve been seeing from this Justice Department—is prematurely terminating the investigation and closing the case without taking an action. MSNBC reported that agents planned to wait and see what Homan did once he went to work for the government but that the case “stalled” after Trump became president and was formally closed in the last few weeks. The investigation was out of the Western District of Texas, handled by that U.S. Attorney’s Office with help from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section. (The Section was effectively dismantled after an incident involving the dismissal of a public corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The dismissal, which the administration insisted on in exchange for Adams’ agreement to cooperate with their immigration deportation policy, resulted in resignations at both the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and at Main Justice.) In the meantime, there’s the question of where the $50,000 is. Did Homan keep it? What did he do with it? If the agents kept it, that too would be reflected in the case file. If it stayed with Homan, failing to report it on his taxes would be a separate federal crime from possible bribery. Like prosecutors always say, follow the money. Any other president would have immediately fired someone in Homan’s position, but Homan still has Trump’s full support. Thanks for being here with me at Civil Discourse. Your subscriptions make the newsletter possible, and I appreciate you. We’re in this together, Joyce You're currently a free subscriber to Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance . For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Condemning Crimes—Unless They're Your Own
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