DOJ labels allegations ‘criminal,’ confirms Monday search warrant
Border czar Tom Homan publicly identified Rep. Ilhan Omar as the subject of a Department of Homeland Security investigation during a Fox News appearance last month, ahead of a Monday search of the Minnesota Democrat’s Washington, D.C., home by federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations.
Federal agents executed a “judicially authorized search warrant” secured by the Department of Justice, a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. “This enforcement action is part of an ongoing investigation.” The spokesperson added that the allegations against Omar are “criminal” in nature.
Fox News, ABC News and NBC News reported the search earlier Monday, citing unnamed sources, and said the investigation into Omar stems from her immigration paperwork.
Omar is running for re-election on Nov. 3, as Democrats seek to win a majority in Congress. There is no law prohibiting federal law enforcement from taking actions against candidates so close to an election, but the Justice Department has long been hesitant to do so because of the appearance of election interference.
Homan, who took over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota earlier this year, said in the Fox News appearance last month that Omar was the subject of a DHS investigation.
The Trump administration has been investigating claims of fraud in state social-service programs in Minnesota. President Donald Trump has claimed that Somali immigrants have been behind widespread fraud in the state.