By Steve Neavling
White House border czar Tom Homan was caught up in an FBI sting after a former associate suggested he could steer government contracts in exchange for $1 million if Donald Trump returned to office, MSNBC reports, citing a Justice Department document and four sources familiar with the probe.
Julian “Jace” Calderas, a former immigration official who once worked under Homan, allegedly pitched the scheme to undercover agents posing as businessmen. At a Sept. 20, 2024, meeting in Dallas, agents recorded Homan accepting $50,000 in cash, while Calderas took $10,000, the document shows.
“I know nothing about this,” Calderas said in a phone interview when asked about the investigation. “If this is the case, I’m going to need to talk to my lawyer.”
He then hung up.
Homan has denied wrongdoing.
“I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal. It’s hit piece after hit piece after hit piece,” he told Fox News last week, though he did not specifically deny taking the money.
The White House has called the inquiry political.
“This changes nothing,” deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement, describing the case as a “blatantly political investigation” by former President Biden appointees that “found no evidence of illegal activity.”
The Justice Department ultimately shut down the probe after Trump returned to office in January. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said agents and prosecutors “found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
