WASHINGTON: A federal investigation into Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has become the center of a fierce political storm, and now a former president has joined the fight.
Barack Obama said on X that the government is pressing down on a law-abiding lawmaker only because she has criticized President Donald Trump. He called the probe “so appalling” and warned that if such tactics become normal, they may not stop with her. Future presidents of either party, he said, could do the same, reported by The Nation.
The case began last week, when homeland security agents searched Omar’s home in Washington. Reports say they took her phone, computers, notebooks and passport. The Minnesota Democrat was born in Somalia and came to America as a child in 1995. US media say investigators are examining her citizenship, including whether the age on her application matched her true birth date.
That detail matters. Obama noted that Omar’s father became a citizen when she was 17, and under US rules, a child under 18 living with a citizen parent gains citizenship automatically. He said the administration seems to be relying on an unproven theory that she was actually 18. To strip her citizenship, prosecutors would have to prove serious lies in the process.
The White House rejects any claim of political motive. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis said Trump has not turned the Justice Department on his rivals, and that it is focused on restoring law and order. Trump said the matter has “nothing to do” with him and called Omar a “terrible person.” Omar says he has targeted her for years with smears and calls the probe political intimidation.
Her lawyers have demanded her belongings back. They argue the search broke limits set by a judge to protect her work as a lawmaker. They also say agents failed to properly warn her or the House counsel, and kept her from calling her attorney for over an hour.
Democrats call the raid an attempt to interfere with Congress. Republicans reply that Omar deserves no special treatment under the law.
The moment carries a quiet echo. Trump once questioned where Obama was born, claims that records from Hawaii disproved. On Sunday, Obama left that history unspoken.
