Tom Homan, who now runs Donald Trump’s border operation as “border czar,” was caught on hidden cameras accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents in September 2024. Career federal prosecutors believed they had evidence to charge him with conspiracy to commit bribery. However, once Trump’s appointees took control of the Justice Department, they shut down the investigation entirely.
The FBI stumbled onto Homan while investigating government contracting fraud in Texas. They were focused on Julian “Jace” Calderas, a former Border Patrol agent who co-founded a border security contracting company called XFed.
Calderas, speaking with undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen, began bragging about his connection to Homan. As Trump’s 2024 campaign gained momentum, Calderas proposed that Homan—who was publicly positioning himself to return to government—could help secure federal contracts for the right price. That price: one million dollars total.
On September 20, 2024, FBI agents arranged a meeting with Homan in Texas. They came equipped with hidden cameras capturing multiple angles. According to sources familiar with the recordings, Homan discussed his expected role in a second Trump administration and his influence over contract decisions. Then an undercover agent handed him $50,000 in cash—inside a Cava restaurant takeout bag. Homan took it. Calderas also received $10,000 that day.
The FBI’s Public Integrity Section—elite prosecutors who handle high-profile corruption cases—formally joined the investigation in late November 2024, after Trump announced Homan’s appointment. This signaled that experienced prosecutors believed the evidence was substantial.
Career prosecutors thought they had what they needed: recordings, documentation, and statements they believed established a quid pro quo arrangement. They began planning next steps, preparing potential charges including conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services fraud.
Everything changed when Trump took office on January 20, 2025. The Justice Department was restocked with Trump loyalists, including acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who quickly made clear he didn’t support continuing the investigation. One political appointee allegedly dismissed it as a “deep state” investigation.
By September 2025, the case was formally closed. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement claiming investigators “found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing”—directly contradicting what career prosecutors had concluded.
The White House called it FBI entrapment targeting Trump’s allies. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially claimed Homan “never took the $50,000” before pivoting to claim it was a political investigation.
Homan’s own denial was carefully worded: “I did nothing criminal, I did nothing illegal.” Notably, he didn’t say he didn’t take the money or that the meeting never happened.
Where is the $50,000 now? Did Homan return it, keep it, or report it on financial disclosures? What happened to Calderas, who allegedly accepted $10,000 and initiated the scheme? The recordings that could answer these questions remain locked away by the Trump Justice Department.
House Democrats have demanded the recordings be released, calling it “a brazen cover-up to protect Donald Trump’s allies.” But transparency appears unlikely.
This isn’t just about one allegedly corrupt official. It’s about the systematic dismantling of accountability. Career FBI agents followed proper procedures, career prosecutors believed they had a prosecutable case, and then political appointees killed it all because Homan is loyal to Trump.
Tom Homan now oversees billions in taxpayer dollars, wielding enormous power over immigration policy and the very contracts he allegedly promised to help steer. The systems designed to hold powerful people accountable were simply swept aside because in this administration, political loyalty is the only credential that matters.
