Homan sidesteps question on alleged $50,000 payment saying, ‘I did nothing criminal’
Border czar Tom Homan on Monday said he “did nothing criminal” but did not deny taking a $50,000 cash payment — failing to repeat a claim first offered by the White House.
MSNBC reported Friday that Homan accepted the cash payment in September of last year as part of an FBI undercover operation conducted after the bureau was given a tip that he was taking kickbacks in exchange for helping companies secure lucrative government contracts should President Trump be elected.
When first responding to the outlet’s reporting, the White House did not initially claim Homan did not accept the money when it first responded to MSNBC’s reporting, instead saying the border czar is not involved in contracting decisions and did nothing wrong.
But that shifted Monday when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the border czar.
“Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to, so you should get your facts straight. Number one,” she told reporters.
In his appearance on the Ingraham Angle, Homan denied wrongdoing but did not repeat Leavitt’s claim.
“Look, I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal,” Homan said. “It’s hit piece after hit piece after hit piece and I’m glad the FBI and DOJ came out and said, you know, said that nothing illegal happened, no criminal activity.”
Democrats have called for the release of the tapes to combat White House claims Homan did not take the money.
Legal experts, however, told MSNBC that Homan’s conduct would be illegal regardless of whether he accepted the money or whether he delivered on any promise to help with contracts.
It’s unlawful to take money to improperly influence federal contracting even if someone is able to deliver on their promise to do so. However, someone cannot be charged under federal bribery statutes until they are a public official.
According to MSNBC, prosecutors working the case decided to wait until Homan assumed a position under the Trump administration before considering charges, but the matter was not pursued after the inauguration.
Though he did not address whether he took the money, Homan did go on to reference his finances, saying he’s had to sacrifice a lot to return to government.
“You’re talking about a guy who spent 34 years enforcing law. I mean, I left a very successful business that I ran to come back and work for a government again,” he told Fox’s Laura Ingraham. “I’m back on a government paycheck.”
“Not only did I sacrifice, my family sacrifices. I make sacrifices every day. I got more death threats than anybody. I got a security team around me, but guess what? My kids don’t, my wife don’t,” he continued. “I mean, I haven’t lived with my wife in months because I don’t want her to be here right now with all the threats.”