Attorneys for U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar have demanded that the Justice Department immediately return property seized during a federal search of her Washington, D.C. home, calling the October 12 raid "neither justified nor lawful" — escalating a legal fight over an immigration-fraud investigation just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
What Omar's lawyers allege
In a letter sent to federal prosecutors on Friday — first reported by The Wall Street Journal and obtained by the Associated Press and CNN — attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz described the probe as "a vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated criminal investigation into one of the President's chief congressional critics" that "violates Representative Omar's constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers."
The letter makes several specific claims about how the search was conducted: that agents failed to follow safeguards set by the magistrate judge who approved the warrant, that the House general counsel was not notified until after the search became public, that Omar was not given a copy of the warrant beforehand, and that she was barred from contacting her lawyers for more than 60 minutes during the search. Her team also says no Justice Department official was present to advise her of her Speech or Debate Clause privileges, and she was offered a waiver she did not sign.
The attorneys demanded that the department preserve all audio and video recordings of the search, and wrote that "there is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status" — noting she became a lawfully naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000 after fleeing Somalia as a child.
What the Justice Department says
A Justice Department spokesperson rejected the allegations outright, calling the letter "riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies" and saying "our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do."
In a statement to CNN, the department added: "Leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith. It is a publicity play." D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the judge who approved the warrant "would not have signed that warrant unless there was probable cause," and noted there are "several investigations going on," including into Omar's financial disclosures.
Why the timing matters
The search came less than three weeks before the November 3 midterms, in which Omar, 44, is seeking a fifth House term. The Justice Department has historically avoided public investigative actions involving a candidate within 60 days of an election — a policy Democrats say was violated here, and Republicans say does not apply to a lawfully authorized search.
According to reports, federal agents seized Omar's phone, and more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas have been issued — including to her relatives — as part of a probe examining her immigration history, possible false statements on government documents, and a potential conspiracy. Omar herself has called the investigation an "attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement," adding: "For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns... I will not be silenced." President Trump told reporters he had "nothing to do" with the search, saying it was "really up to the DOJ."
The takeaway: With the midterms approaching, the fight over the search of a sitting congresswoman's home has become a proxy battle over the Justice Department's independence — her lawyers calling it political retribution, the department calling it routine law enforcement, and a judge's warrant at the center of it all.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Volatile Reaction (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Al Jazeera, CNN, Associated Press.