Questions are swirling around White House border czar Tom Homan and his connection to a former Culpeper County sheriff who was convicted of bribery and later pardoned by President Donald Trump.
The News4 I-Team learned that late last week, a deputy sheriff’s badge issued to Homan was returned to Culpeper County after it was found in a used car.
Culpeper County Sheriff Tim Chilton told the I-Team that police from Arlington, Virginia, contacted his office about a found identification and badge. A woman had recently turned the items in, saying she found them in a used Cadillac she bought in 2023. A report filed by the sheriff’s office says Arlington police told them the woman described finding a wallet in “a hidden compartment inside one of the glove boxes in the Cadillac.”
The Badge’s Origins
Homan, who has served as White House border czar since Trump was sworn in for his second term, was issued a Culpeper County deputy sheriff’s badge in 2020, when the office was led by then-Sheriff Scott Jenkins. The badges looked the same as deputy sheriffs’ badges issued by the county at the time and offered the same rights and responsibilities. Jenkins swore in dozens of outsiders as deputies, giving them law enforcement powers, including being able to arrest people and make traffic stops.
Chilton, elected as sheriff in 2024, said he has ended the practice of giving badges to outside individuals.
Incomplete Records
Chilton said an internal system shows the badge was issued in 2020, but it does not show who authorized or created the ID. “This was during, you know, during a difficult time for the office a few years back,” he said.
On Monday, Chilton said, the clerk of court found a record showing Homan was sworn in in 2020. The record included Jenkins’ signature on the appointment. Chilton said there is no indication in Culpeper County records that Homan ever trained, worked, or volunteered in Culpeper County.
Jenkins’ Conviction and Pardon
Jenkins was convicted in federal court in 2024 of giving badges to three Northern Virginia businessmen in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in bribes. The businessmen were also convicted. They were the only three people charged, though the I-Team was able to find records of dozens of badges issued to outsiders while Jenkins was sheriff.
Jenkins was pardoned by Trump last May, just before his decade-long federal sentence was set to begin. During News4’s review of court documents and coverage of the trial, Homan was never implicated or mentioned in court documents or testimony. Homan’s name was also not in court documents listing who was issued a badge that News4 reviewed years ago at the Culpeper County courthouse.
Homan’s Response
A White House official told the I-Team that Homan knew Jenkins from “several events.” The official said Homan asked Jenkins to use the Culpeper sheriff’s range to pass a legally required firearms test. Jenkins agreed, according to the official, and offered to make Homan a reserve deputy to help advise the sheriff on the 287(g) program and how the office could better partner with ICE.
Homan said yes and was sworn in, but the official said he never worked for Culpeper County. The White House said Homan “wasn’t aware of any allegations/rumors of the Sheriff accepting bribes.”
Unanswered Questions
Asked by News4 how many Culpeper County sheriff’s badges may have been issued to people who were not full-time or part-time employees of the department, Chilton said he does not know. “Unfortunately, I don’t even know, and I don’t think we’ll ever know,” he said.
Last year, Homan was the subject of a federal bribery investigation unrelated to Culpeper County. No charges were filed, and the investigation was later closed after prosecutors determined there was not sufficient evidence to move forward.
The Bottom Line
A used car buyer in Virginia found a Culpeper County deputy sheriff’s badge issued to White House border czar Tom Homan in a hidden compartment of the vehicle. The badge was issued in 2020 under former Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was later convicted of bribery and pardoned by President Trump. Homan’s name was not mentioned in the bribery case, and a White House official said he never worked for Culpeper County but was sworn in as a reserve deputy to use the firing range. The current sheriff does not know how many similar badges were issued to outsiders.
