WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House said on Monday that President Donald Trump fully stands by border czar Tom Homan, after Reuters and other media reported Homan accepted a $50,000 payment from an undercover FBI agent last year in a bribery sting operation.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt rejected the reports that Homan had accepted such a payment.
"The White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100% because he did absolutely nothing wrong,"
Leavitt said. She said that FBI agents and prosecutors found no evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing by Homan.
On Sunday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Homan accepted a $50,000 bag of cash from an undercover FBI agent last year in a since-closed U.S. Justice Department bribery investigation.
In the alleged scheme, Homan promised immigration-related government contracts when he joined the Trump administration in exchange for the money, the sources said, speaking anonymously to discuss nonpublic investigations.
Homan rejected the claims during an appearance on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" show, saying he "did nothing criminal" or illegal.
"I'm glad the FBI and DOJ came out and said - you know, said that nothing illegal happened and nothing - you know, no criminal activity," he said.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Jasper Ward; writing by Maiya Keidan; editing by Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman and Lincoln Feast.)
