Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan forcefully denied allegations that he accepted a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents, telling Newsmax the claims are part of an orchestrated campaign to discredit him.
“Look, the Justice Department said I did nothing criminal, I did nothing illegal, I did nothing wrong,” Homan said on “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE,” Monday. “This is a series of hits against me since the beginning of the year. There’s been a hit piece about every week.”
The New York Times on Saturday reported that Homan was investigated after an audiotaped meeting surfaced, in which he allegedly accepted $50,000 from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen seeking border security contracts.
The case was dropped after President Donald Trump took office, the paper said, citing doubts prosecutors could prove a quid pro quo and noting that the alleged incident took place in September 2024, when Homan was not a government employee.
The White House strongly denied the report, and press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters in the midst of a presidential campaign.”
Homan told Higbie he never took the money and underscored that he set strict ethical boundaries when returning to government under Trump.
“By law, you’re supposed to recuse yourself from any company you had affiliations with before,” he said. “I took it a step further. I recused myself from all federal contracts. I do not make decisions on any federal contracts.”
He said the work has come at a personal cost. “I make about 18% of what I made in my company to come back and serve my nation,” Homan said. “My family took a sacrifice. I’ve taken a sacrifice, and I’m back here doing the right thing.”
Homan accused political opponents and sympathetic media outlets of deliberately trying to destroy his credibility.
“I know who’s chumming the water. I know who keeps throwing this information out, and the media jumps all over it,” he said. “They can attack me all they want, but we’re going to take action. I don’t know what these people think — that they’re just going to poke the bear, and people like me aren’t going to level the playing field.”
On another front, Homan blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to sign legislation banning immigration agents from wearing masks while on duty, calling the move “unconstitutional” and reckless.
“The reason we wear masks is not only the agents being doxed all over social media. Their families are,” Homan said. “I got numerous death threats myself. I don’t wear a mask because I don’t care. I’m the border czar — come at me. But the bottom line is they’re trying to protect their families.”
He said Newsom’s rhetoric has fueled hostility toward immigration enforcement. “We’re afraid of politicians like him who has compared ICE to terrorists and Nazis,” Homan said. “It empowers that fraction on the left. Attacks [are] up over 1,000%.”
Homan added that Trump has been unequivocal in backing federal officers.
“President Trump called me one day when he saw stones being thrown at our vehicles. He said, ‘They throw stones, they go to jail. They spit on them, they go to jail.’ This is zero tolerance,” Homan said. “People are angry at what ICE is doing, but why don’t you go protest Congress? ICE is enforcing the laws that Congress enacted.”
GET TODAY :
is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the channel on your cable system –
Sign up for and get , our streaming channel and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch anytime, anywhere!
Start your now:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
