Rep. Ilhan Omar’s lawyers say authorities ignored judge’s restrictions on home search

Lawyers for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) on Friday accused federal authorities of ignoring key restrictions that a judge placed on the search of the lawmaker’s D.C. residence this week and demanded the immediate return of all property seized from the home.

In a letter sent to Justice Department prosecutors, attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz condemned the investigation into Omar’s immigration history as a politically motivated attack on one of President Donald Trump’s chief critics, saying it “violates Representative Omar’s constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers.”

They also alleged that investigators did not follow specific instructions that a U.S. magistrate judge imposed on how the search should be carried out as they descended upon Omar’s residence in Northeast Washington on Monday, according to a copy of their letter obtained by the Washington Post.

Among the restrictions the attorneys said agents did not follow were provisions requiring investigators to provide Omar’s lawyers with a copy of the warrant and to contact the House Office of General Counsel before carrying out the search. That would have given Omar the chance to consult with congressional attorneys on any legislative work product that might have been exempt from federal seizure, her lawyers said.

The Post has reported that Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is investigating whether Omar, 44, or members of her family may have lied on decades-old immigration paperwork to secure legal status and eventually U.S. citizenship.

“There is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status,” the letter read. “Still, recent experience teaches that the absence of a proper predicate has not stopped this Administration from pursuing politically motivated criminal investigations into President Trump’s opponents.”

The Friday missive marked an initial salvo in the legal defense of a Democratic congresswoman who has emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal critics on Capitol Hill and a frequent target of his wrath. The letter detailed many arguments her legal team could end up making in court, should she ultimately be charged with a crime.

A Justice Department spokesperson dismissed 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,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith. It is a publicity play.”

The Department of Homeland Security, whose agents are leading the investigation, referred all questions to the Justice Department.

Born in Somalia, Omar along with her family fled civil war in that country. They arrived in the United States as refugees in the mid-’90s. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000.

Now seeking reelection to a fifth term in Congress in November, Omar has repeatedly dismissed the claims at the heart of the Trump administration’s investigation as baseless attacks from right-wing conspiracy theorists and another example of the Justice Department, under Trump, weaponizing law enforcement against the president’s perceived foes.

Before signing off on a warrant authorizing Monday’s search, a federal magistrate judge in D.C. expressed concern that agents’ actions could run afoul of constitutional protections shielding members of Congress from unwarranted executive-branch intrusion, the Post has reported.

That warrant remains under court seal. Several news organizations, including the Post, have petitioned U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh to make it public.

Multiple people familiar with the document have told the Post that the limits Sharbaugh imposed appeared intended to ensure that the warrant fell in line with the D.C. court’s interpretation of the Constitution’s “speech and debate clause,” which protects lawmakers’ legislative work product from unfounded scrutiny from federal prosecutors.

In their letter Friday, Omar’s attorneys said the warrant required federal prosecutors to advise the congresswoman of those “speech and debate” protections and ask her to waive them. The lawyers maintained that did not happen and that agents executing the search prevented Omar from contacting legal counsel for more than an hour after the search had begun.

More broadly, the attorneys maintained the search violated long-standing Justice Department policies that traditionally prohibit public investigative steps involving political candidates within 60 days of an election to avoid the appearance that any probe is being driven by partisan concerns. Department officials have maintained that prosecutors cleared their plans through an internal review before carrying out the search.

As part of the search, agents removed boxes of documents and seized Omar’s cell phone and passport, the Post has reported. In addition to demanding the return of those items, Omar’s lawyers requested Friday that authorities preserve any video or audio recordings they made during the search.

They also sought the preservation of any records from a 2019 inquiry into Omar’s immigration history, which unfolded during Trump’s first administration. The Post reported Thursday that as part of that review, career immigration officials examined many of the same issues at the heart of the current probe — including questions over Omar’s birth date and her father’s military record in Somalia — and determined there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing to warrant a full investigation.

“The political motivations behind this preelection investigation and search are clear as day,” Omar’s attorneys wrote, adding: “This search was neither justified nor lawful.”