ASN NEWS USA — NEWS FLASH
WASHINGTON (ASN NEWS USA)— Federal agents raided the Washington-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar early Monday morning, and a government watchdog now says the timing reeks of election interference.
Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant on Oct. 12 as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into immigration paperwork filed by Omar’s late father when the family fled Somalia’s civil war and arrived in the United States in 1995. Omar, then 12 years old, says she became a U.S. citizen in 2000 at age 17 through her father’s naturalization.
On Tuesday, the Democracy Defenders Fund filed a formal Hatch Act complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, naming DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Attorney General Todd Blanche, and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow. The complaint asks Special Counsel Charles Baldis to investigate whether senior officials used federal law enforcement power to influence the Nov. 3 midterm elections — noting the raid landed just days before early voting begins in Minnesota, where Omar is seeking reelection.
The group’s executive chairman, Norm Eisen, was joined by bipartisan signers including former Bush White House ethics chief Richard Painter. The complaint argues the raid is unexplainable except as “a politically motivated use of power to influence the Minnesota congressional election.”
The investigation’s scope is widening. The New York Times reported federal grand jury subpoenas going out to Omar’s relatives, including her sister Sahra Noor, and the Wall Street Journal reported the administration is building toward a denaturalization case aimed at deporting the congresswoman. A separate financial probe is being run by D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Omar has denied wrongdoing, calling the raid “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”
Stay tuned to ASN News USA for updates on this developing story. Reported by ASN News USA. Visit asnnewsusa.com or follow @ASNNewsUSA for updates. ASN NEWS USA: Real News. Real Voices. Real Change.