*Federal authorities raided the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday morning as part of a criminal investigation.
The Minnesota Democrat has not been charged with a crime. Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, conducted the raid.
Investigators were seen outside her home in the Northeast quadrant of the city throughout the morning.
The timing is hard to ignore. The raid came less than a month before November’s midterms, where Omar is seeking reelection.
Republican John Nagel is running against her in a race the Cook Political Report rates “solid Democrat.”
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Omar Says She Will Not Be Silenced
Omar fired back on X, writing, “I’m ok.”
“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she wrote. “I will not be silenced.”
Her spokeswoman, Jacklyn Rogers, called the raid “an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.” Rogers added, “The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.”
What Investigators Are Pursuing
A person familiar with the situation told CNBC the probe is complex and has been going on for years. MS NOW reported that a law enforcement source said the investigation is based on allegations of fraud. Fox News reported it focuses on her immigration paperwork, which was filled out by her father when she emigrated from Somalia as a child.
In September, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told commentator Benny Johnson that DHS was investigating issues around Omar and her family’s immigration, saying there “may be more to this” and that it could end with deportations.
The Department of Justice said Homeland Security Investigations “executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice” as part of “an ongoing federal investigation.”
A person familiar with the raid said the DOJ does not consider it a violation of its election-season policy because the raid was not meant to be public.
Democrats Cry Foul
House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar blasted the administration.
“The Trump administration’s raid on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s home is deeply disturbing and raises serious questions about the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump’s adversaries,” they said, promising “full accountability for the rogue abuse of power.”
Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at 17 and was elected in 2018, becoming one of the first two Muslim women in Congress.
Whatever the investigation finds, the message sent to voters three weeks before an election is unmistakable, and Omar is making clear she has no intention of going quietly.
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