Sen. Jacky Rosen is calling for the watchdog at the Department of Justice to review the agency’s shuttered probe into White House border czar Tom Homan and his alleged acceptance of $50,000 from undercover FBI agents.
In a letter to the DOJ’s inspector general — shared first with MS NOW — the Nevada Democrat pushed for a “robust investigation” into the bribery probe and the DOJ’s handling 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.
The letter represents the latest in a string of requests to inspectors general across the federal government — following others to watchdogs at the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security — to review the alleged bribery case. It’s unclear if any have opened inquiries; IGs generally don’t comment publicly about ongoing investigations.
MS NOW was first to report in September about the 2024 undercover operation where the FBI recorded Homan allegedly accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he would help the agents, who were posing as business executives, win government contracts during a potential second Trump term, according to multiple sources.
The case stalled when Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, sources told MS NOW, and FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche subsequently said in a statement that the case was “closed,” with the FBI and federal prosecutors finding “no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
Homan, who previously served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement early in Trump’s first term, has said he “didn’t take 50,000 from anybody,” but he has declined to answer detailed questions publicly.
In a statement responding to Rosen’s request for an IG review, a White House spokesperson echoed past comments 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 about the decision to shut down the case — and about what happened to the cash itself. At an October hearing on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly dodged questions about where the money went.
In her letter to the inspector general, 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 just days after Trump tapped Homan to oversee DHS’ immigration actions in Minneapolis, where the administration is facing mounting public outcry over the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of federal agents.
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 sent the letter to the DOJ inspector general on Thursday. MS NOW reached out to the IG’s office to ask whether it has launched — or is considering launching — a review of the Homan case. It did not respond by the time of publication.
Rosen’s team says this is the first time a senator has called for the DOJ IG to review the case.
The Homan probe, though, has sparked numerous other calls for accountability from lawmakers and outside groups.
Last fall, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee called for the release of the FBI recordings tied to the Homan investigation.
In September, Rep. David Min, D-Calif., sent a request to the inspector general at 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 at the departments of Homeland Security and Defense investigate whether immigration and defense contractors are “receiving lucrative, no-bid contracts because of their close ties to high-level Trump administration officials” such as Homan.
The Campaign Legal Center also reached out to the inspector general at DHS in October, requesting a review of whether Homan “knowingly and willfully failed to report” the $50,000 “on his financial disclosure statement.”
On Nov. 11, 2024, Trump announced his decision to appoint Homan his border czar, a White House adviser role, which — unlike the job of director of ICE — did not require Senate confirmation or an extensive FBI background check.
Homan had already spent roughly three decades working in border protection and immigration enforcement, including serving as the head of ICE’s deportation branch during President Barack Obama’s second term.
In September, MS NOW reported that the federal investigation into Homan was launched in western Texas in the summer of 2024 after a subject in a separate investigation claimed Homan was soliciting payments in exchange for awarding contracts should Trump win the presidential election, according to an internal Justice Department summary of the probe reviewed by MS NOW and people familiar with the case.
Several FBI and DOJ officials believed Homan’s acceptance of the cash provided strong evidence that they should continue to pursue the case after Homan took office. The Public Integrity Section — seasoned prosecutors who handle cases involving elected and high-profile figures — agreed to join the case in late November 2024, according to documents reviewed by MS NOW.
Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian contributed to this report.
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW.