Over the weekend, it got here out that Tom Homan, one of many senior architects of the Trump administration’s immigration coverage, allegedly took $50K from undercover FBI brokers posing as enterprise executives hoping to bribe their approach into authorities contracts if Trump received. He’s stated to have accepted the funds — which the FBI reportedly captured on video — in a Cava bag. If the quick meals chain doesn’t instantly capitalize on this with some kind of advertising and marketing marketing campaign, then I’ve misplaced all religion in them.
Homan, curiously sufficient, put himself front-and-center of the transfer to drop the Eric Adams bribery case. Homan by no means got here throughout as the right spokesperson for the administration’s resolution, highlighted when he appeared to verify a quid professional quo for dropping the Adams case, however looking back, he might need had a vested curiosity in placing out the message that bribery isn’t something to be ashamed of.
A number of persons are speaking about this story and its implications for the rule of regulation, with some evaluating the overarching investigation as a modern-day Teapot Dome scandal, however Above the Legislation has a extra quotidian question: severely, what occurred to the cash? If the FBI gave away $50,000 after which dropped the case… what occurred to it? The place is that this taxpayer cash?
I get that the administration declared this a “deep state” probe — the precise phrases of a Trump Justice Division appointee in accordance with NBC sources — and determined to punt the investigation, however… is the cash nonetheless on the market? Did they inform Tom that he was wrongfully investigated, however can we please get again our honeypot? They couldn’t actually be permitting him to maintain it… proper?
Why is everybody targeted on whether or not or not this was actually a criminal offense and never on the cash?
You shouldn’t take heed to Kurt and Megyn usually, however you must positively not take heed to individuals who don’t appear to have the vaguest sense of how the Justice Division features. To start with, the FBI was concerned in a broader, ongoing investigation and doesn’t make it a behavior of charging folks on the drop of a hat till they’re certain they’ve uncovered the complete scope of the enterprise. However extra to the purpose, the DOJ was by no means going to cost a senior particular person in Trump’s orbit in September of 2024, as a result of irrespective of how good of a case they assume they’ve, the DOJ usually doesn’t take actions which may impression an election mere weeks away.
That is the criticism that liberals have with James Comey reopening the Hillary electronic mail debacle on the cusp of the 2016 election. Which isn’t essentially honest to Comey, who painted himself right into a nook when he made the well-intentioned, if ill-advised, resolution over that summer time to testify beneath oath that the FBI had reviewed each single electronic mail and located no criminality. At that time he sort of needed to inform Congress when new emails emerged, and though he signaled that these emails had been doubtless irrelevant — which was in the end true — the injury was completed.
Presumably chastened by that have, the DOJ was completely, positively not going to make a public accusation that the Trump marketing campaign was concerned in a large bribery scheme in September of an election yr.
White Home Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson slammed the probe as a “blatantly political investigation, which discovered no proof of criminal activity, is one more instance of how the Biden Division of Justice was utilizing it’s assets to focus on President Trump’s allies quite than examine actual criminals and the thousands and thousands of unlawful aliens who flooded our nation.”
“Tom Homan has not been concerned with any contract award choices. He’s a profession regulation enforcement officer and lifelong public servant who’s doing an outstanding job on behalf of President Trump and the nation,” she added on behalf of Homan, a senior White Home worker.
OK, however that’s not denying that there was an investigation — certainly, it confirms that there was one — and it’s definitely not a denial that the investigation included cash handed to Homan. Possibly they meant to disclaim that he ever took $50K in a Cava bag, however that’s not what these solutions are saying. So even when we settle for these White Home responses at face worth and resolve that this was a foul case, we’re nonetheless neglected right here questioning… the place the hell is that cash? Did he report it on his taxes? Now that that is public, can somebody within the IRS verify?
Alas, that is an administration that misplaced lots of of youngsters the primary time round, after which claimed they misplaced a number of guys in El Salvador. Possibly we must always simply settle for that they’re by no means going to search out that cash.
