Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
WASHINGTON (KFGO/WCCO) – The Department of Justice has moved to block the release of search warrant materials tied to Minnesota U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar’s residence.
Federal prosecutors requested that a Washington court keep search warrant records regarding the early October search of Omar’s home sealed, telling the judge that releasing details while the investigation remains active could compromise sensitive sources and prematurely disclose their investigative strategy.
The Justice Department indicated it may support unsealing redacted versions later, but if the judge rules to unseal the records sooner, they will then ask for an emergency stay.
Earlier this month, federal agents searched the Democratic Omar’s Washington, D.C. home, just weeks before the frequent target of President Donald Trump’s criticism stands for reelection in her congressional district in Minnesota.
Last week, Omar said she will move out of her Washington, D.C. home, noting that attention brought on by the raid has made her feel unsafe there.
Trump has not been shy about wanting to use federal law enforcement to target his perceived political enemies. He’s pushed prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York’s Democratic Attorney General, Letitia James, following earlier probes the two launched against him.
Omar, a left-wing firebrand, has been a longtime target of Trump and Republicans in general. She was born in Somalia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Trump has especially targeted Somali immigrants in Minnesota, posting on social media a week before the raid at Omar’s home that the people of the state must “fight back” against them.
The state has reeled from several federal fraud cases sometimes involving Somali-run nonprofits in Minnesota. Many of those cases were filed by former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice. Omar is not involved in them.
Omar has long criticized Trump, and the president has likewise gone after her repeatedly over the years. Trump also alluded to possible action against the congresswoman. At a rally in Tennessee prior to the raid, Trump referred pejoratively to Omar as coming from a country of “crime and squalor” and suggested that Vice President JD Vance “and our people” were investigating her.
Justice Department protocol has long been to avoid legal action against politicians in the final weeks before their election. The Trump administration’s violation of that added to Democratic criticism that this is simply political payback.
Comments