The Justice Department on Friday issued about a dozen subpoenas as part of an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, including to members of her family, a person familiar with the investigation said.
The congresswoman herself was not subpoenaed, the source said, adding that the orders seeking information are tied to a federal grand jury in Minnesota, Omar’s home state.
The investigation is examining matters surrounding Omar’s immigration status, and that includes, but is not limited to, her birthdate, the source said. Omar, who was born in Somalia and moved to the United States with her family in the 1990s, was naturalized when she was 17 years old, meaning she was a juvenile and able be conferred citizenship through a parent.
Investigators are attempting to speak with Omar’s sister but have not issued her subpoena yet, the source said.
The investigation is seeking information to see where it leads, the source said. For example, if records, representations related to age and immigration status contain false information, that would provide material for investigators to scrutinize further. They could also examine communications related to such matters.
The Justice Department declined to comment to NBC News, and a spokesperson for Omar didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoenas.
The subpoenas came just days before federal agents searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., home as part of a yearslong criminal investigation that is partly looking into immigration fraud, a person familiar with the matter said. The investigation, which is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis and the Justice Department, has involved whistleblowers, documents and witness testimony, the source added.
After the search of her house Monday, Omar said in a statement on X, “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. I will not be silenced.”
Asked Monday if he had been aware of the search in advance, President Donald Trump said the federal government was looking at Omar “very carefully.” He also repeated is frequent attacks on her and Somalia more broadly, calling her a “terrible person” who came from a nation that’s a “non-country.”
“Then she comes over here and she complains about our Constitution,” Trump said. “I think she’s a terrible person, but that’s really up to the DOJ.”
That evening, Trump also attacked Omar in remarks at a rally he held for Republicans in Ohio.
“I don’t know what they’re doing with it, but I can tell you this: She’s a disaster,” Trump said. “She comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military, where all they do is shoot each other, and she comes into our country and she says, ‘I have a constitutional right.’”
Omar, who is part of a group of progressive women in Congress known as the “squad,” has been a frequent target of Trump’s rhetoric against her and other members’ liberal positions, as well as Somalian immigrants broadly.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared to tease federal action against Omar last month when he said “something’s going to happen” with her, but they were still investigating.
“If we actually move a case forward, it’s not a political case,” Mullin said. “It’s an actual case because they did things wrong. If you decided to break the law or lie [about] the information you gave the United States to be able to come into the United States through either asylum or because you were just wanting to seek a better life, but you didn’t tell us who you actually were, you lied about certain things about your application — those things, there’s no expiration to that.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.