US Rep. Ilhan Omar challenges legality of FBI home search: WSJ

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - The defense of US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar have challenged the legality of a search of her Washington home, demanding that federal prosecutors immediately return all seized property and provide recordings made during the operation, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

In a letter sent late Friday, the Minnesota Democrat’s legal team argued that the search, conducted by Homeland Security Investigations agents early Monday under a federal judge-approved warrant, was “neither justified nor lawful.”

According to the Journal, the investigation focuses partly on how Omar, 44, obtained US citizenship after arriving from Somalia decades ago.

“There is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status,” the letter said.

Her lawyers alleged that agents failed to follow the judge’s instructions, including a requirement to notify the US House general counsel before executing the warrant. They also said Omar and her attorneys were not given a copy of the warrant beforehand, as ordered by the judge.

The letter claimed agents prevented Omar from contacting her lawyers for more than an hour after the search began.

A Justice Department spokeswoman rejected the allegations, describing the letter as “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies. Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do.”

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, defended the operation earlier this week, saying it had been approved by a federal judge mindful of constitutional protections.

“That judge would not have signed that warrant unless there was probable cause,” Pirro said on Fox News.

Omar’s lawyers also accused prosecutors of abusing the grand jury process through subpoenas issued in Washington and Minnesota.

“This vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated criminal investigation into one of the president’s chief congressional critics violates Representative Omar’s constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers,” the letter said.

The search came three weeks before November’s midterm elections, in which Omar is seeking a fifth term.

The letter also accused the Justice Department of violating its longstanding practice of avoiding public investigative actions involving political candidates within 60 days of an election, a measure intended to prevent the appearance of partisan interference. Department officials have denied violating any policy.

“This search—which arose from a years-old, tired conspiracy theory concerning conduct stretching back decades—violated longstanding Justice Department policy concerning interference in elections,” the letter said.

Omar has long been targeted by President Donald Trump and conservatives, as well as GOP-led congressional investigations.

Berk Kutay Gökmen