Rep. Ilhan Omar responds after federal officers search her home

By Michael Williams, CNN

(CNN) — Federal officers executed a search warrant early Monday at the Washington, DC-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat who has been the persistent target of ire from President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a Justice Department spokesperson and a source familiar with the matter.

The congresswoman is running for reelection, and the search warrant was executed only weeks before the midterms.

It is unusual for the Justice Department to take such an aggressive investigative step toward a candidate so close to an election. Voting is well underway in Minnesota, with more than 127,000 people having already voted, according to data from the secretary of state.

The Department of Justice said in a statement Monday that investigators from Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security that handles criminal investigations, “executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice.”

“This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” a DOJ spokesperson said.

The statement did not indicate what the investigation entailed.

Omar called the search “the latest escalation” in Trump’s “campaign of political intimidation.”

“I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote on X. “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.”

House Democratic leaders called the search “deeply disturbing” and said it “raises serious questions about the continued corrupt weaponization of the federal government against Donald Trump’s adversaries.”

“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement, adding that it comes with “less than 30 days until the midterm election.”

“The American people deserve transparency, and we will deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice,” the statement added.

A spokesperson for the congresswoman said in a statement to CNN, “For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back. Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong.”

While authorities have not said what prompted the search, administration officials have previously indicated that Omar was facing an investigation.

White House border czar Tom Homan said on Fox News last month that “things are going on” in relation to Omar, before adding: “But I can’t give the specifics of what’s happening.”

Speaking to Fox on Monday morning, Homan confirmed the search warrant was executed, but provided no other information.

“The specifics of the investigation, I think I need to turn that over to Todd Blanche or Markwayne Mullin,” he said, referring to the attorney general and DHS secretary. “I don’t want to get ahead of them commenting on an ongoing investigation.”

One of Omar’s neighbors told CNN they were awoken around 4:30 a.m. Monday to the sounds of banging on doors. Later that morning, CNN observed that the home was surrounded by Homeland Security Investigations officers and that investigators were removing boxes from the home. Before leaving the scene, officials used a camera to document the condition of the house.

Omar was born in Somalia and grew up at the peak of that country’s civil war. She fled to the US as a teenager and later became a US citizen. She was first elected to Congress in 2018 and became part of “The Squad,” a group of congresswomen of color known for pushing for progressive causes.

Since joining Congress, she has been the target of racist vitriol, including from Trump, who called Omar “garbage” last year and said Somalis should “go back to where they came from.”

Omar’s home district in Minnesota was the target of an expansive immigration-enforcement campaign earlier this year that led to violent clashes between protesters and immigration authorities and the fatal shootings of two US citizens.

Top administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Mullin, have accused Omar of marrying her brother to help bring him into the United States. They have provided no proof of this claim.

Homan said on Fox News last month, referencing Omar, that if “someone committed immigration violation, someone committed marriage fraud, or anything like that, regardless if they’re a congressman or not, no one’s above the law.”

Asked specifically whether that means there was an open investigation into Omar, Homan responded: “I’m confirming that ICE is — yeah, like I said months ago, that is something that’s been reported and needs to be looked at.”

In prior years, the department has treaded cautiously for the 60-day period before an Election Day to not make searches or levy charges that would disadvantage a candidate. Department policy also bars prosecutors and investigative agents from selecting timing in an investigation so that it would influence an election.

Top Justice Department leadership signed off on the search after thorough deliberations given the proximity to the election, and a federal judge ultimately approved it, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN on Monday.

The Justice Department also has special policies requiring additional approvals when investigations involve a member of Congress, and the Constitution provides additional protections for members around papers and communications that relate to their legislative work.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Kristen Holmes, Annie Grayer and Nick Leimbach contributed to this report.