Donald Trump’s transition team was reportedly warned days before he took office that his incoming border czar was facing a bribery probe—something that would have been flagged earlier if the president-elect had not foregone background checks.
According to a Tuesday report by MS NOW, Trump-friendly Judge Emil Bove, then an official on Trump’s transition team, was alerted to allegations against Tom Homan by a Justice Department lawyer shortly before the president’s inauguration. Homan had been accused of accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents who posed as businessmen seeking his help in getting federal border security contracts.
Bove is said to have “closed his eyes and grimaced” upon reading the allegations. But Trump had already named Homan as his incoming border czar months earlier, on Nov. 10, and his appointment went on as planned. It’s unclear if Bove notified other Trump officials of the bribery probe, or how Homan went on to obtain a security clearance.
“Justice officials felt sure Homan would not be able to obtain security clearance based on the evidence gathered in the corruption probe, which they and FBI agents believed had shown Homan unsuitable for a trusted senior role in government service,” MS NOW reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
Kash Patel reportedly learned of the investigation, which had begun in early 2024, shortly after being confirmed in his capacity as director of the FBI, with the case subsequently stalling before being closed altogether earlier this summer.
After MS NOW first broke news of the alleged bribe in September of this year, Homan told Fox News, “I did nothing criminal, I did nothing illegal.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and the FBI for comment on this story. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson reportedly declined to answer questions from MS NOW about the process behind Homan eventually obtaining clearance, instead accusing the outlet of trying to “resurrect a story that has already been thoroughly debunked.”
“This was a blatantly political investigation, that found no evidence of illegal activity, and was yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies rather than investigate real criminals and the millions of illegal aliens who flooded our country,” Jackson was quoted saying.
“Tom Homan is a career law enforcement officer and lifelong public servant who is doing a phenomenal job on behalf of President Trump and the country,” she added.
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