Rep. Omar's Lawyers Demand Return of Items Seized in Search; DOJ Calls Letter 'Riddled With False Allegations'
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Rep. Ilhan Omar wrote to the Justice Department on October 16 demanding the immediate return of items seized when federal agents searched her Washington home this week, and asking that all audio and video recordings of the search be preserved, the Associated Press reported. Attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz called the search, part of an immigration fraud investigation, 'neither justified nor lawful,' writing that there was 'no legal basis suggesting that she violated any law regarding her citizenship.'
The letter described the investigation as a retaliatory, politically motivated criminal probe against one of the president's chief congressional critics, and questioned how the search was carried out. Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington responded Friday evening that the letter was 'riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies,' adding: 'Our attorneys and law enforcement partners have complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as we always do.' The department did not say whether it would return the seized items.
Federal agents searched Omar's Washington home early on October 12 under a warrant approved by a federal magistrate judge, seizing her phone. Investigators have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, according to the AP. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said multiple warrants were executed the same day and that the case is expected to go before a grand jury. Omar's lawyers say she was lawfully naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2000.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 资料图：众议员 Ilhan Omar 2024年11月在 Minneapolis 一处投票站。图片来源：Taylor Dahlin，CC BY 2.0，经维基共享资源。File photo: Rep. Ilhan Omar at a Minneapolis polling place in November 2024. Credit: Taylor Dahlin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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