Ilhan Omar Faces New Probe After Raid as Trump Admin Launches Investigation
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar faces a new federal investigation into her financial disclosures one day after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided her Washington, D.C.-area home as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation connected to her immigration paperwork.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro confirmed Tuesday that her office is investigating congressional disclosures about businesses owned by Omar's husband, Tim Mynett.
The new probe comes as President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on the Minnesota Democrat on Tuesday, calling her a "terrible person" and "terrible congresswoman."
However, the president said he "doesn't take a position" over whether he wants Omar deported after the HSI raid.
The search at the home of Omar, a progressive, comes just three weeks before she faces reelection during the midterms.
A naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Somalia, the congresswoman has denied wrongdoing and accused the Trump administration of weaponizing federal law enforcement against its political opponents.
"Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement," Omar wrote on X. "For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced."
She has not been charged with any crime.
Newsweek has reached out to Omar and Pirro's office for further comment.
The financial investigation was confirmed Tuesday by Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Appearing on Fox News' America Reports , Pirro was asked about a previous review of Omar's financial disclosures by the Office of Congressional Conduct.
Pirro confirmed that the matter was also the subject of an investigation by her office. "It doesn't matter what the House does," she said. "We're looking at the facts. Based upon the facts, we'll follow them wherever they take us."
The inquiry concerns financial disclosures that previously listed Omar and her husband, political consultant Mynett, as holding assets valued in a range of $6 million to $30 million.
Related Story Ilhan Omar Becomes 17th Democrat Probed During Trump’s Second Term Related Video 00:40 JD Vance Says He Had No Advance Notice Of Ilhan Omar Home Raid Related Video 00:48 Trump Rally Crowd Chants ‘Deport’ as President Attacks Ilhan Omar Related Story Ilhan Omar’s Family: What to Know Amid Immigration Investigation Omar later amended the filing, reducing the reported range substantially. Her team attributed the discrepancy to accounting errors.
According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal , the Office of Congressional Conduct recommended that the House Ethics Committee dismiss allegations that Omar may have violated House rules or the law by submitting inaccurate or incomplete financial information.
Pirro's announcement means Omar now faces two distinct areas of federal scrutiny: the criminal investigation connected to the search of her home and the inquiry into her financial disclosures.
Authorities have not publicly established that the two investigations are connected.
After Pirro's appearance, Trump shared a post on Truth Social suggesting that Omar had benefited from fraud in Minnesota, without providing evidence to substantiate the claim.
Omar's office pointed to the previous congressional conduct review when responding to questions about the financial inquiry.
Federal agents searched Omar's Washington-area residence before dawn October 12, in an operation the Justice Department confirmed was part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
The search was conducted by HSI, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. A Justice Department spokesperson said agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant, but officials have not publicly detailed the full scope of the investigation.
The search warrant lists several alleged immigration offenses, including false statements and fraud in immigration paperwork, as well as a general conspiracy charge, The New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with the document. Newsweek has not independently reviewed the warrant.
Fox News reported that the inquiry concerns allegations of fraud involving documents connected to her immigration history and paperwork completed by her late father when she was a child.
The search marked a significant escalation in the scrutiny facing Omar, who represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District and has been a frequent target of Trump's criticism. The timing has also attracted scrutiny because the search took place only weeks before the midterm elections. The Justice Department has traditionally sought to avoid overt investigative steps involving political candidates close to an election, generally within 60 days, to avoid the appearance of partisan interference.
Trump used a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday night to launch another attack on Omar, hours after the search of her home.
The president criticized her Somali origins and questioned her right to invoke the U.S. Constitution.
"She's a disaster. She comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military. All they do is shoot each other, and she comes into our country and she says, 'I have a constitutional right,'" Trump said.
He continued by criticizing Somalia and its people, prompting members of the crowd to chant "deport."
Trump then said: "This is not what we want in this country. We don't want this."
His remarks came amid a broader campaign against Somali immigrants in Minnesota, a community Trump has repeatedly criticized. Omar, the first Somali American elected to Congress, has become one of his most prominent targets.
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