WASHINGTON – US federal agents searched the Washington home of Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Oct 12 as part of what officials said was a criminal investigation, marking a dramatic escalation in President Donald Trump’s confrontation with the outspoken lawmaker.
Omar said she was “OK” following the operation but accused the administration of targeting political opponents just three weeks before she seeks re-election in the Nov 3 midterms.
The early morning search – described by Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan as part of a longstanding probe – was conducted by agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of US immigration enforcement.
“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponise federal law enforcement,” Omar wrote on social media platform X.
“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.”
The operation also sparked a furious backlash from Democrats who accused Trump of abusing government powers to pursue his political opponents.
Fox News reported that the search was linked to a criminal fraud investigation concerning immigration paperwork submitted on behalf of the Somali-born congresswoman by her late father when she was a child.
The President was asked about Omar hours after the operation and said she was being investigated “very carefully”.
“I’ve always found her to be totally crooked personally, but that has nothing to do with me. I think she’s a terrible person, just a complainer. She comes from a country that is a non-country,” he told reporters at the White House.
The Justice Department confirmed in a statement on Oct 12 that agents had carried out a “judicially authorised search warrant” in the Washington area, but officials did not identify Omar or disclose the nature of the probe.
“This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” prosecutors added.
Omar, 44, is a leftist Democrat and fierce critic of Trump, particularly his administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigration.
The Republican president has repeatedly clashed with Omar, who came to the United States from Somalia as a child and has frequently been the target of his political attacks.
Political backlash
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team called the search “deeply disturbing” and raised questions about “the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump’s adversaries”.
Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz accused Trump of “abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election”.
Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace, meanwhile, said Omar should be stripped of her US citizenship and deported if fraud was proven.
“NO ONE is above the law,” she wrote on X.
The timing also drew criticism from Xochitl Hinojosa, a former director of public affairs at the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
“There’s a longstanding rule at DOJ that you don’t take overt actions like this before an election, especially when there’s a candidate on the ballot,” she wrote on X.
Omar said in September that Homeland Security officials had not contacted her about any investigation, dismissing the allegations against her as politically motivated attacks.
Omar was first elected to Congress in 2018 and represents a district including Minneapolis, home to one of the largest Somali communities in the United States.
She is a member of the group of left-wing Democratic lawmakers known as “The Squad”, who have been among Trump’s most vocal opponents in Congress.
No charges against Omar were announced in connection with Oct 12’s search. AFP