Sen. Jacky Rosen is looking for the watchdog on the Department of Justice to review the company’s shuttered probe into White House border czar Tom Homan and his alleged acceptance of $50,000 from undercover FBI brokers.
In a letter to the DOJ’s inspector normal — shared first with MS NOW — the Nevada Democrat pushed for a “robust investigation” into the bribery probe and the DOJ’s dealing with of the case to “ensure Mr. Homan’s fitness for the job.”
“Congress has a responsibility to know that the person currently in charge of directing immigration enforcement — that is allegedly targeting criminals — hasn’t broken the law himself,” Rosen wrote.
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The letter represents the most recent in a string of requests to inspectors normal throughout the federal authorities — following others to watchdogs on the Department of Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security — to review the alleged bribery case. It’s unclear if any have opened inquiries; IGs typically don’t remark publicly about ongoing investigations.
MS NOW was first to report in September in regards to the 2024 undercover operation the place the FBI recorded Homan allegedly accepting $50,000 in money after indicating he would assist the brokers, who had been posing as enterprise executives, win authorities contracts throughout a possible second Trump time period, in keeping with a number of sources.
The case stalled when Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, sources informed MS NOW, and FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche subsequently mentioned in an announcement that the case was “closed,” with the FBI and federal prosecutors discovering “no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
Homan, who beforehand served as appearing director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) early in Trump’s first time period, has mentioned he “didn’t take 50,000 from anybody,” however he has declined to reply detailed questions publicly.
In an announcement responding to Rosen’s request for an IG review, a White House spokesperson echoed previous feedback dismissing the Homan probe, calling it “a blatantly political investigation which found no evidence of illegal activity” and “another example of the Biden DOJ using its resources to target President Trump’s allies.”
Numerous questions persist in regards to the choice to close down the case — and about what occurred to the money itself. At an October listening to on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly dodged questions on the place the cash went.
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In her letter to the inspector normal, Rosen wrote, “It is critical for your office to determine how Mr. Homan later used this money, particularly if the payment was funded by taxpayer dollars.”
Rosen’s request comes simply days after Trump tapped Homan to supervise Homeland Security’s immigration actions in Minneapolis, the place the administration is dealing with mounting public outcry over the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by the hands of federal brokers.
Rosen touched on that dynamic in her letter, writing, “At a time when ICE and CBP’s immigration enforcement practices are at the forefront of the national consciousness, and as the Administration directs its personnel to employ inhumane and horrifying tactics, I am extremely concerned about Mr. Homan’s ability to maintain public confidence and ethically and effectively perform his duties as White House Border Czar.”
Rosen despatched the letter to the DOJ inspector normal on Thursday. MS NOW reached out to the IG’s workplace to ask whether or not it has launched — or is contemplating launching — a review of the Homan case. It didn’t reply by publication.
Rosen’s crew says that is the primary time a senator has referred to as for the DOJ IG to review the case.
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The Homan probe, although, has sparked quite a few different calls for accountability from lawmakers and exterior teams.
Last fall, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee referred to as for the discharge of the FBI recordings tied to the Homan investigation.
In September, Rep. David Min, D-Calif., despatched a request to the inspector normal on the U.S. Treasury, asking for them to “investigate whether Mr. Homan properly reported this payment on his 2024 federal tax return.” And in December, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., requested that the watchdogs on the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense examine whether or not immigration and protection contractors are “receiving lucrative, no-bid contracts because of their close ties to high-level Trump administration officials” comparable to Homan.
The Campaign Legal Center additionally reached out to the inspector normal at DHS in October, requesting a review of whether or not Homan “knowingly and willfully failed to report” the $50,000 “on his financial disclosure statement.”
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On Nov. 11, 2024, Trump introduced his choice to nominate Homan his border czar, a White House adviser function, which — not like the job of director of ICE — didn’t require Senate affirmation or an in depth FBI background test.
Homan had already spent roughly three many years working in border safety and immigration enforcement, together with serving as the top of ICE’s deportation department throughout President Barack Obama’s second time period.
In September, MS NOW reported that the federal investigation into Homan was launched in western Texas in the summertime of 2024 after a topic in a separate investigation claimed Homan was soliciting funds in trade for awarding contracts ought to Trump win the presidential election, in keeping with an inner Justice Department abstract of the probe reviewed by MS NOW and folks conversant in the case.
Several FBI and DOJ officers believed Homan’s acceptance of the money supplied sturdy proof that they need to proceed to pursue the case after Homan took workplace. The Public Integrity Section — seasoned prosecutors that deal with instances involving elected and high-profile figures — agreed to affix the case in late November 2024, in keeping with paperwork reviewed by MS NOW.
Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian contributed to this report.
Kevin Frey
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW.
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