Washington, D.C. — In a political drama that seems ripped from the pages of a Hollywood script, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s recently appointed border czar, finds himself at the center of a swirling bribery scandal that has ignited fierce debate in Congress and beyond. The controversy began when MSNBC reported that, in September 2024, Homan was allegedly caught on tape accepting a $50,000 cash payment from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen, with the purported aim of securing lucrative border enforcement contracts should Trump win a second term. The money, stuffed into a restaurant take-out bag, has become symbolic of the allegations now dogging the administration.
Homan, who previously served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump’s first term, was tapped as the Republican’s chief enforcer on the border following Trump’s victory in the November 2024 election. Since Trump’s inauguration at the start of 2025, Homan has spearheaded a sweeping crackdown on immigration, a role that has made him both a hero to supporters and a lightning rod for critics.
According to MSNBC, the FBI and Justice Department initially planned to hold off on taking action, opting instead to see whether Homan would follow through on his alleged promise to steer government contracts once he assumed his official post. But the investigation, which began under the leadership of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, soon stalled. Wray, a Trump appointee, resigned in January 2025 under White House pressure and was replaced by Kash Patel on February 20. In the weeks leading up to September 25, 2025, Trump-appointed officials closed the inquiry after Patel requested a status update, as reported by multiple sources familiar with the matter.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been unwavering in her defense of Homan. At a press conference, she declared, “Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to, so you should get your facts straight, number one.” She went further, characterizing the investigation as “another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters.” Leavitt asserted that probes conducted since Trump took office “found zero evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing,” adding, “The White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100%, because he did absolutely nothing wrong. He is a brave public servant who has done a phenomenal job in helping the president shut down the border.”
Homan himself has echoed these denials in public statements. Speaking to Fox News, he insisted, “I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal. It’s hit piece after hit piece after hit piece.” Despite these categorical denials, the controversy has only deepened as lawmakers demand more transparency.
House Democrats, led by Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, have taken the lead in calling for the release of the alleged FBI tape. In a statement on September 23, 2025, Raskin and his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee accused the administration of orchestrating “a brazen cover-up to protect Donald Trump’s allies.” Their press release asserted, “This startling episode is powerful evidence that Mr. Homan may have committed multiple federal felonies, including conspiracy to commit bribery.” Raskin was even more pointed in an interview with CNN, stating, “If there’s no crime and they really think that the whole thing should be quashed, then they should not be afraid of showing [the alleged recordings] to the public. But a lot of us smell a rat here and believe that this is an attempt to cover up yet another criminal offense associated with somebody in the Trump administration.”
Democratic senators have echoed these calls, penning a letter to FBI Director Patel urging him to release the video, citing the administration’s previous commitments to transparency. “This case should be no different,” they wrote, pressing for the same level of openness that has accompanied other closed investigations.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who is leading a House investigation, stressed the importance of public proof. “The best thing that we can do is have some proof for those that actually want to know the truth,” she told The Weeknight, emphasizing that video evidence is crucial in dispelling political conspiracies. Crockett also pushed back on the White House’s assertion of entrapment, explaining, “Entrapment requires a person to be coerced into committing a crime they would not have otherwise committed.” She argued that Homan’s alleged actions were not the result of coercion, but rather a “pre-existing business” that had already attracted the FBI’s attention through informants in western Texas.
While Leavitt maintained that the case was thoroughly examined and ultimately closed by Trump Justice Department officials, the timing and circumstances of the closure have only fueled suspicion. MSNBC and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Patricia Lopez noted that Homan has not specifically denied taking the money in the alleged sting, a detail that leaves room for doubt. Internal documents reviewed by MSNBC’s reporters suggest that Homan, at the time a private citizen running a consulting firm, told undercover agents he expected to play a significant role in a second Trump administration and could influence contract awards.
The story takes on added complexity given Homan’s previous business ties. As a civilian, he operated a consulting firm that secured immigration-related contracts, including work for the GEO Group, a major player in private detention facilities. After Trump’s November victory, GEO’s CEO Brian Evans told investors, “We’re looking at a theoretical potential doubling of all our services.” The Department of Homeland Security subsequently awarded GEO a 15-year, $1 billion contract in February 2025, just after the FBI probe was closed, according to MSNBC. ICE has insisted that Homan “has never been involved in any contract discussions or decisions at ICE since being named border czar.” GEO has not commented on the matter.
Homan himself, in a December 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, stated he would recuse himself from contract decisions to avoid conflicts of interest. Yet, critics argue that as border czar, his influence is profound, especially as Congress’s “big beautiful” budget reconciliation bill has allocated unprecedented funding for immigration enforcement. The details of how these funds will be distributed remain opaque, raising further questions about oversight and accountability.
For now, Democrats in both chambers of Congress are pressing for answers, launching parallel investigations and demanding the release of all pertinent documents and recordings. Yet with Republicans controlling neither chamber, their ability to compel testimony or hold hearings is limited. Still, as Patricia Lopez wrote for Bloomberg, “It’s imperative to get to the bottom of what happened here.”
As the story continues to unfold, the fate of the alleged video—and of Tom Homan’s reputation—hangs in the balance. In an era when trust in government is already fragile, the demand for transparency and accountability has rarely felt more urgent.
