Overview
- Career Justice Department lawyers delivered a one-page summary to transition official Emil Bove in early January detailing an active FBI bribery investigation into Tom Homan.
- Undercover agents recorded Homan accepting $50,000 in cash in Texas on Sept. 20, 2024, while associate Julian Calderas took $10,000, according to internal DOJ materials.
- Trump’s team delayed and limited submissions for FBI background checks until Dec. 3, so Homan was announced as border czar on Nov. 10 without the usual pre-inauguration vetting.
- Justice officials believed the evidence would bar Homan from a security clearance, yet he ultimately received one and now serves in the White House role.
- Prosecutors enlisted DOJ Public Integrity to monitor the case, FBI Director Kash Patel and Bove expressed displeasure, and the FBI later closed the probe as the White House labeled it political and Homan said he did nothing illegal.