Phone, Computers, Passport Among Items Taken in Ilhan Omar Raid as List of Subpoenas Grows

Federal agents reportedly seized Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s phone as part of a raid on her Washington, D.C. home this week as the number of subpoenas has expanded to more than a dozen.Agents from the Department of Homeland Security searched Ms. Omar’s home before dawn on Monday morning in connection with a criminal investigation for alleged immigration fraud. Along with her phone, agents took her passport and personal computers, the Wall Street Journal reported.Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow Cully Stimson, a former military judge, said it was unclear if investigators would have immediate access to data on the phone and computers. “It may take a little time to exploit and crack any electronics or password protected information or encrypted communications,” Mr. Stimson told the Sun. “There may be information in a different language, which will require a translator to look at information and translate it accurately.”The subpoenas, including one for Ms. Omar’s sister, were reportedly issued for a grand jury collecting evidence in Minnesota. Mr. Stimson described the search as a “waterfall event” that could have a ripple effect in terms of what else investigators are looking for and may lead to more search warrants and more subpoenas.While federal authorities remained tight lipped on the probe, it appears to involve questions about whether Ms. Omar lied about her age to become a citizen. The search warrant, which has not been made public, reportedly lists a series of potential immigration crimes, including false statements and fraud in immigration paperwork, and a conspiracy charge, the New York Times reported.Ms. Omar moved with her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, from Somalia to America in 1995 and became a citizen in 2000. Ms. Omar said she was 17 at the time and received automatic citizenship when her father became a naturalized citizen, but there have long been claims that she was actually 18 at the time and would not have received automatic citizenship. Ms. Omar has said she does not have a birth certificate from war-torn Somalia.There are allegations that Ms. Omar or her late father may have lied or omitted information about his past on paperwork to secure legal status and citizenship. Ms. Omar has described her father as an educator but he has been identified as a former military officer in the army of the brutal Somali dictator Siad Barre. Nur even led a regiment during the 1977-1978 Somali-Ethiopian war, according to Yusuf Ismail Faraton, who also served as a colonel in the Somali army.The fraud investigation into Ms. Omar could result in charges and potentially an effort to strip her of her citizenship. The Justice Department could pursue a civil denaturalization case because they are not subject to a statute of limitations while criminal cases do have time limitations.Ms. Omar has other legal trouble dealing with required Congressional financial disclosures. United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeannine Pirro confirmed this week that her office is conducting a separate probe centering on paperwork Ms. Omar filed last year reporting on her 2024 assets.The annual filing initially showed Ms. Omar and her husband had $6 to $30 million in assets, a large increase from the previous year’s filing. Ms. Omar later refiled the paperwork to declare that her assets were only worth between $18,000 and $95,000. She said the first filing was due to an accounting error that included the total equity of two businesses that Mr. Mynett was involved with rather than his ownership interest.Ms. Omar, who faces an election in less than three weeks, has called the investigation political intimidation. “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” Ms. Omar said in an X post.A one-time Trump ally who is now a fierce critic, former Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has lashed out at the investigation. In an X post she claimed the administration is “pretending” to get ready to deport Mr. Omar while ignoring things like high gas, health care, and grocery prices. When questioned by conservative social media influencer Nick Sortor about her take on the investigation, Ms. Greene on Thursday responded with, “Stop falling for the SLOP.”

Phone, Computers, Passport Among Items Taken in Ilhan Omar Raid as List of Subpoenas Grows

Phone, Computers, Passport Among Items Taken in Ilhan Omar Raid as List of Subpoenas Grows

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