Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s border czar, has publicly denied taking $50,000 in exchange for government contracts for the first time.
Homan, a contributor to Project 2025 and the architect of the family separation policy enforced in Trump’s first administration, appeared at a town hall event yesterday to claim that he is not “enriching” himself through his government role.
“I didn’t take $50,000 from anybody,” Homan told NewsNation’s Bill O’Reilly, referencing an alleged video that reportedly captured him taking cash from FBI agents disguised as business executives.
Trump’s border czar went on to claim that he has been the victim of media “hit pieces” during his time in office, during which he has presided over one of the most aggressive immigration crackdowns in recent history.
“There’s got to be 30, 40 hit pieces about me, about how I’m involved with the contract intergovernmental contracts,” Homan said. “Day one, I came back. I recused myself from any discussions, any contracts, or any monetary decisions like that because I used to have a company that did consulting.
“So I cleared myself day one. What people don’t talk about is that I took a significant, huge pay cut to come back and serve my nation. And I’m not enriching myself doing this job.”
However, this is the first time that Homan has claimed that he did not accept the cash, despite the event allegedly being caught on video by the FBI.
Previously, he had told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that he had done “nothing criminal” and “nothing illegal” in relation to the incident.
According to sources close to the investigation and internal documents seen by MSNBC, the FBI and the Department of Justice wanted to determine if Homan would distribute government contracts if he received a bribe before taking office.
The investigation into the future border czar in the summer of 2024, following accusations by someone involved in a separate investigation that Homan was soliciting payments for government contracts if Trump became president, according to documents reviewed by MSNBC.
Before joining Trump’s second administration, Homan reportedly earned consulting fees from a division of the GeoGroup, according to reports seen by The Washington Post. The company is one of two major firms that run the majority of America’s immigration detention facilities.
Following Trump’s win in 2024, the GeoGroup saw its share price rocket from $15.13 to $25.50. The president’s Big, Beautiful Bill set aside $45 billion for ICE to boost immigration detention, with companies like the GeoGroup set to benefit from their lion’s share of the market.
However, the White House has maintained that Homan’s dealings have been aboveboard.
Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, said that Homan upholds “the highest ethical standards.”
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said that the “White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100% because he did absolutely nothing wrong.”
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