U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar announced Wednesday that she will move out of her Washington, D.C., residence after federal agents searched the home last week, stating that the public attention stemming from the raid has left her feeling unsafe. The search comes as federal authorities investigate potential fraud regarding her family’s immigration paperwork.
A person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that federal authorities have issued grand jury subpoenas to several of Omar’s relatives. The source was not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
Speaking Wednesday in her first interview since the search, Omar expressed confidence regarding her actions. The progressive Minnesota Democrat stated that she is “confident in the fact that I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Omar has been a frequent critic and target of President Donald Trump, who has on multiple occasions pushed for the prosecution of his perceived political enemies. In an interview with MS NOW, Omar said she was rattled by the search occurring just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms, which will decide control of the House and Senate. She is running for reelection in a deep blue district centered in Minneapolis and is expected to retain her seat.
Omar recalled waking around 6 a.m. to Homeland Security investigators banging on her door with a warrant. Agents searched her residence for four or five hours and seized 17 items, including phones, notebooks, a Somali language children’s book, and a vintage camera her husband had received as a gift.
Omar described the agents as “intrusive but polite,” noting that they logged the items they took and put everything else back in its place. The Justice Department has shared few details about the case beyond stating that it is a criminal investigation.
Omar came with her family to the U.S. at age 12 after obtaining asylum and became a U.S. citizen five years later, in 2000. “It would be a huge undertaking to, I suppose, indict a 12-year-old for so cleverly conspiring to defraud immigration services to come to the United States. I’m sure there are a lot of smart 12-year-olds, but that seams like a leap,” she said during the interview.
The search drew sharp condemnation from congressional Democrats, who questioned its timing. The Justice Department has historically avoided overt investigative actions involving candidates in the immediate run-up to an election.
