Homeland Security raid on Ilhan Omar’s DC home triggered by text on her sister’s phone
WASHINGTON, DC: For Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the latest trouble came not from a political rival, but from within her own family.
A new bombshell report suggested that the raid on the Somali-born congresswoman's Washington, DC, home was triggered by a family text message on her sister’s phone.
According to sources, the investigation seeks to determine whether Omar and her relatives lied or omitted crucial information in immigration paperwork they filed since moving to the United States in the 1990s. They were admitted as refugees after fleeing Somalia’s civil war.
Federal agents reportedly seized Ilhan Omar’s sister’s phone to collect evidence
The phone of Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, a health care executive and author, was seized earlier this year as federal investigators started investigating whether the Minnesota Democrat committed immigration fraud, three people familiar with the matter told the New York Times.
The text messages received on Noor’s phone allegedly included information that was used to secure a federal judge’s approval for Department of Homeland Security agents to raid Omar’s home Monday, October 12.
Asked about the seizure of Noor’s phone, a spokesperson for Omar declined to address the matter directly, instead alleging that President Donald Trump’s personal vendetta drove the investigation.
“Trump has spread lie after lie about the congresswoman in a desperate attempt to justify his extraordinary abuse of power,” Jackie Rogers told the NYT in a statement.
“This is politically motivated and an escalation of Trump’s personal vendetta against her, lasting over a decade,” she added.
Omar has previously faced investigations concerning her finances, campaign expenditures, and interactions with foreign nationals, none of which resulted in charges.
Seizure of Ilhan Omar’s phone is a ‘big deal’
During the raid, several agents were seen carrying boxes from the residence to government vehicles, including a white vehicle marked with a pink X.
Several federal agents were apparently seen diving through her dumpster to collect DNA from Omar’s trash before the raid, sources told NewsNation.
“To me, if they are obviously trying to obtain DNA, then, yes, that is a very easy get, especially if it was discarded even in a trash can,” former FBI special agent Tracy Walder told the outlet.
The evidence is expected to go before a federal grand jury in Minnesota to determine whether Omar and her family lied when they immigrated to the US in 1995.
To collect more evidence, investigators have also seized the congresswoman’s phone, passport, notebooks and personal computers.
Weighing on the developments, John Fishwick, who served as top federal prosecutor for the Western District of Virginia, insisted that seizing Omar’s phone is a "big deal" because the Department of Justice under the Trump administration has not had much luck with judges in Washington, DC, as they did here.
"This thing is white hot right now. We don't know where it's going to end up, but there's certainly a lot of pressure on her," he told 'Jesse Weber Live' on Wednesday.
"They must have said something to a judge that we think some of this evidence … it's not going to be there days or weeks," Fishwick added.
