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US Representative Ilhan Omar’s lawyers have challenged the legality of a search of her Washington home, demanding that federal prosecutors return all seized property and provide recordings made during the operation, Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday, citing The Wall Street Journal.
In a letter sent late Friday, the Minnesota Democrat’s legal team argued that the search, carried out early Monday by Homeland Security Investigations agents under a warrant approved by a federal judge, was “neither justified nor lawful.”
The investigation is focused in part on how Omar, 44, obtained US citizenship after arriving from Somalia decades ago, according to the Journal. “There is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status,” the letter said.
Omar’s 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 the judge had ordered.
The letter further claimed that agents prevented Omar from contacting her lawyers for more than an hour after the search began.
A Justice Department spokeswoman rejected the allegations, saying the letter was “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies.” She said department attorneys and law enforcement partners had complied with all court orders and legal obligations.
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, defended the operation earlier this week, saying a federal judge had approved it with constitutional protections in mind. “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. The letter described the investigation as “vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated” and said it violated Omar’s constitutional rights and threatened the separation of powers.
The search took place 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.
The letter said the search stemmed from a “years-old, tired conspiracy theory” about conduct stretching back decades and violated longstanding department policy on election interference.
Omar has long been targeted by President Donald Trump and conservatives, as well as by GOP-led congressional investigations.
