White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt came in hot on Monday, blasting a reporter who cited bombshell reports that border czar Tom Homan was recorded accepting $50,000 in cash during an FBI sting. “Well, Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to,” Leavitt shot back from the podium. “So you should get your facts straight, number one.” The tense exchange followed a weekend flurry of stories alleging Homan took a bag stuffed with cash in 2024, only for the Justice Department to later close the probe.
“Did the president ask the Justice Department to close the case?” the reporter asked. “And does Homan have to return the $50,000?” Leavitt, visibly irritated, said the White House had no role in shuttering the case and insisted Homan “did absolutely nothing wrong.” She cast the investigation as a politically motivated “weaponization” of law enforcement that targeted one of President Trump’s most vocal allies as the 2024 campaign heated up.
🚨 BREAKING: Another narrative crumbles – Tom Homan DID NOT take the “$50,000” he was “allegedly” offered from FBI agents in 2024 to help them win “government contracts.” Karoline Leavitt says it was attempted ENTRAPMENT.
“Even Kash Patel’s FBI looked into this just to make… pic.twitter.com/zjdH7ilsI9
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 22, 2025
The scramble began after media outlets reported that undercover FBI agents posing as business executives handed Homan $50,000 as part of a sting tied to promises of help landing government contracts once he joined the administration. A senior law enforcement official later said the probe was ultimately dropped for “no credible evidence” of criminal wrongdoing, even as sources maintained the cash handoff was captured on video.
Leavitt leaned hard into exoneration, saying even FBI Director Kash Patel’s team reviewed the matter and found nothing to charge. “They found zero evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing,” she said, adding that the president and the White House “stand by Tom Homan 100%.” Homan, a former acting ICE director under Trump and a hard-liner on immigration, remains a central player in the administration’s border crackdown.
If Tom Homan did nothing wrong, the Department of Justice should have no issue releasing the Homan files and the video of the alleged bribery to clear this up.
And while they’re at it, go ahead and release the Epstein files and clear Trump’s name.
Shouldn’t be hard! pic.twitter.com/ayDgH4aSd0
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 21, 2025
The back-and-forth came as new reports surfaced detailing internal friction over the case, including questions about why a politically explosive probe that began under the prior administration fizzled out after January 2025. Outlets noted that while investigators compiled evidence of the alleged handoff, the Justice Department decided against pursuing charges this summer. That call has fueled partisan warfare over whether prosecutors were overreaching in the first place or retreating under pressure.
Leavitt dismissed the premise outright. “You had FBI agents going undercover to try and trap one of the president’s top allies,” she said, framing the entire operation as entrapment. She also argued that Homan’s work speaks for itself, calling him “a brave public servant” who helped the president “shut down the border,” rhetoric tailor-made for the West Wing’s base. Meanwhile, critics say the optics are ugly either way: if there was a bag of cash, why no charges, and if there wasn’t, why the glaring leak-fest about a closed case?
If Bob Menendez can do 11 years in prison for bribery – Tom Homan can do 11 years in prison for bribery. pic.twitter.com/046e3rBQA0
— anyone_want_chips (@anyonewantchips) September 21, 2025
For now, the official line is simple: no money taken, no crime, case closed. But with clips of Leavitt’s “get your facts straight” smackdown bouncing around social media, the story is taking on its own life and raising fresh questions about how the administration handles allegations swirling around its inner circle. Homan may be cleared on paper, yet the political heat is only rising, and Monday’s briefing showed the White House is ready to punch back.
If Leavitt’s goal was to slam the lid, she may have done the opposite. Expect more leaks, more questions, and a lot more “facts” for both sides to fight over as Washington argues about whether this was a nothing-burger sting or a scandal that got buried.
