Federal agents search Ilhan Omar's home in criminal probe

Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C., home of Representative Ilhan Omar on Monday morning under a judicially authorized search warrant, an escalation in a criminal investigation three weeks before midterm elections in which the Minnesota Democrat is on the ballot.

The Justice Department confirmed in a statement that agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed the warrant in the Washington, D.C., area in connection with an ongoing federal criminal investigation. It gave no other details, and did not name Omar. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security referred questions about the search to the Justice Department.

Omar said in a post on X that she was unhurt and called the search "an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement." She wrote that President Donald Trump had spent ten years targeting her with what she called baseless lies and smear campaigns. "I will not be silenced," she added.

What has been reported

The search is part of a yearslong criminal investigation run by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis and the Justice Department, NBC News reported, citing a person familiar with the inquiry. That person said the investigation involves whistleblowers, documents and witness testimony, and deals partly with immigration and fraud but goes beyond both.

Fox News, which first reported Monday's search, said the inquiry is a fraud investigation tied to immigration paperwork that Omar's late father filled out on her behalf when she was a child, citing sources close to the matter.

The street outside the home was blocked off Monday morning as HSI agents remained nearby, The Associated Press reported. Fox News Digital said the search began around 6 a.m., with multiple agents wearing HSI jackets outside the residence. CNN reported that officers removed boxes from the house and, before leaving, used a camera to document its condition.

A search warrant is not a charge. Investigators must satisfy a judge that there is probable cause to believe evidence of a crime will be found at the place described, and the warrant must say what may be seized. The judge's question is whether there is a fair probability that evidence will be found, not whether the person is guilty.

No charges against Omar have been announced, and the warrant application and the affidavit supporting it have not been made public.

Three weeks from the midterms

Twenty-two days remain before the midterm elections on November 3, which will determine control of the House and the Senate. Omar, 44, who came to the United States from Somalia as a child refugee and later became a naturalized citizen, represents Minnesota's 5th District, including Minneapolis, and is seeking another term. Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.

The Justice Department has historically avoided overt investigative steps involving a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election, a practice that is unwritten rather than a rule. Its written policy bars prosecutors and agents from timing investigative steps or public statements to influence an election, and directs them to seek guidance when the timing could be read that way.

CNN reported that senior Justice Department leadership approved the search after deliberations over its proximity to the election, and that a federal judge signed the warrant. An investigative step this aggressive against a candidate so close to an election is unusual for the department, CNN said. The department's statement did not address the timing.

In 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey publicly disclosed developments in the email investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton 11 days before that year's presidential election.

Months of public signals

White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed in mid-September on Fox News' The Sunday Briefing that federal immigration authorities were conducting a criminal investigation connected to Omar. He would not say whether the government had evidence that she committed immigration or naturalization fraud. "I know things are going on, but I can't give specifics of what's happening," Homan said.

Homan said HSI would continue its work. "If someone committed immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they're a congressman or not, no one's above the law," he said, and described denaturalization in proven fraud cases as "very serious."

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that there was an "ongoing investigation" related in part to whether Omar lied on her immigration forms, and that "something's going to happen." Mullin said the inquiry could reach further back, citing "the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with."

Vice President JD Vance has accused Omar of immigration fraud, which she denies, and said in May that the Justice Department was examining the allegation. In an interview with the conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, he described talking with Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller about building a case. "How do you go after her? How do you investigate her?" Vance asked.

Democratic leaders condemn the search

House Democratic leaders called the search "deeply disturbing" in a joint statement. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California said they would "deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice."

Trump brought up Omar at a rally in Tennessee over the weekend, attacking her upbringing and suggesting that Vance "and our people" were investigating her, The Associated Press reported.

Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.

Omar has long been a target of Trump's political attacks, especially over immigration, Al Jazeera reported. He wrote in January that Omar and Representative Rashida Tlaib, both Muslim members of the progressive group known as the Squad, should be sent back to where they came from, and said in February that they should be institutionalized after they criticized his State of the Union address. In December he called Omar and other Somali immigrants "garbage."

In January, a man sprayed Omar with vinegar at her own town hall meeting in Minneapolis, hours after Trump criticized her at a rally in Iowa. The attacker was sentenced in September to 14 months in prison. Omar has said she and her family have faced death threats as a result of Trump's rhetoric.

Omar said in September, after Homan confirmed the investigation, that Homeland Security had not contacted her, and she dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. Her office called Vance's accusations "fabricated and defamatory" in March. Republicans have challenged her account of her past since before her first election in 2018, asserting that she married her brother and committed immigration fraud, which she denies.

What remains unknown

Under Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, an officer executing a warrant must prepare an inventory of seized property and give a copy of the warrant and a receipt to the person searched. The warrant had to be executed within the time stated on it, which cannot exceed 14 days. A person whose property was seized can ask the district court to return it.

The specific offense or offenses under investigation have not been made public, nor has what the warrant authorized agents to look for or seize. Warrant applications and affidavits are often sealed while an investigation continues, and grand jury material is secret under federal rules. Omar has denied wrongdoing.