Omar's attorneys challenge federal search as unlawful and politically motivated
Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar's lawyers demanded the Justice Department return property seized during a Monday search, calling the investigation retaliatory and unconstitutional.
What happened
Federal agents searched Omar's home on Monday and seized her phone as part of a criminal investigation. Omar's attorneys filed a letter with the Department of Justice demanding return of the seized property, arguing the search was "neither justified nor lawful" and lacked legitimate basis. The attorneys alleged the investigation—launched weeks before the November 3 midterms—violates Omar's constitutional rights and department policy against investigations that could influence elections. Fox News reported the search concerned criminal fraud allegations related to Omar's immigration paperwork, filed by her father when she was a child. The Justice Department responded through spokesperson Emily Covington that attorneys and law enforcement "complied with all court orders and legal obligations" and that Omar's legal team's letter was "riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies."
Context
The investigation centers on long-standing unsubstantiated claims promoted by Trump and conservative media that Omar's ex-husband is actually her brother and that she married him to facilitate his immigration status. Omar has denied this allegation. The congresswoman is a prominent Somali American and has been a frequent target of Trump's rhetoric, including a December statement describing Somali Americans in Minnesota as "garbage" who "come from hell" and calling for Omar to be "thrown out of our country." Though Trump denied involvement in the investigation after the search, his prior public attacks on Omar and the timing of the investigation weeks before an election in which Omar is on the ballot raise questions about the investigation's political context.
What's disputed
The Justice Department disputes Omar's attorneys' characterization of the search as unjustified and unlawful, asserting all court orders were followed. The underlying allegations regarding Omar's immigration paperwork and marriage—promoted by Trump and conservative media—have been unsubstantiated and denied by Omar.