By Nolan D. McCaskill, Andrew Goudsward and Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - US authorities conducted a predawn raid on Monday on the Washington, DC, home of Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump who has been the target of political insults by the Republican president, as part of an ongoing investigation, the Justice Department said.
A person familiar with the investigation said it is related to alleged immigration fraud, and part of the probe
concerns the Somali-born lawmaker's immigration paperwork filled out by her late father when she was a child.
Omar wrote on social media that the US government is being weaponized to target a political enemy of the president.
"For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns," Omar said. "This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced."
Other Democrats accused Trump and his administration of abuse of power. Omar, 44, is seeking a fifth two-year term in the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections on November 3.
In announcing the raid, a Justice Department spokesperson said: "Today in the Washington, DC area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation."
Homeland Security Investigations is part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
'SOMETHING'S GONNA HAPPEN'
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan told Fox Business Network that the Justice Department is leading the investigation with the Department of Homeland Security. Homan declined to address the specifics of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a Trump appointee, said last month that "something's gonna happen" in the investigation into Omar's family's entry into the United States.
"If we can prove that you shouldn't have been here in the first place, we'll deport you," Mullin told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson at the time.
Monday's raid occurred a little more than three weeks before the midterms, with Trump's party seeking to retain control of Congress. Omar, a prominent progressive, represents a safe Democratic district. She won reelection in 2024 by a margin of 50 percentage points.
'DEEPLY DISTURBING'
In a statement, US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other members of the party's leadership in the chamber said the raid was "deeply disturbing and raises serious questions" about the weaponization of the federal government against Trump's enemies.
Republicans have "relentlessly targeted" Omar, said Jeffries, joined by Representatives Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar. Trump's "mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family," they added, and they vowed to "deliver full accountability" for a "rogue abuse of power."
Minnesota Democrats also condemned the raid.
"Americans see this for what it is," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote on social media. "President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election."
Few Republican lawmakers publicly commented. One who did, Representative Nancy Mace, wrote online: "If the fraud is proven, she should be denaturalized and removed from this country. NO ONE is above the law."
Justice Department policy bars federal prosecutors and agents from timing any action to affect an election's outcome or benefit a candidate or party. It historically has avoided taking investigative steps against political candidates within about 60 days of an election.
George Washington University law professor Randall Eliason, a former US public corruption prosecutor, said the raid appears to be a break with past Justice Department practice of avoiding investigative steps likely to become public close to Election Day. But Eliason noted there is no way of enforcing the policy.
"The idea is to avoid even the appearance of any kind of interference by the Department of Justice with the political process," Eliason said. "It's not surprising that they wouldn't really care about violating this policy because they've shown they don't really care about politicizing the Justice Department in many other ways."
A person familiar with the investigation said the Justice Department consulted with its Public Integrity Section, a unit that has historically advised and approved investigations of members of Congress, and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter prior to the search. The Trump administration has reduced the Public Integrity Section to about two lawyers and curtailed much of its authority.
INVESTIGATIONS OF TRUMP CRITICS
The Justice Department during Trump's second term in office has investigated and brought charges against a range of Trump's perceived political enemies.
It has charged former FBI Director James Comey, New York state Attorney General Letitia James and Trump's former national security adviser turned critic John Bolton. It also has investigated Democratic lawmakers who urged the US military not to follow illegal orders, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve officials Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook.
The case against James and one of two brought against Comey were thrown out by a federal judge. Bolton pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced this month. Grand juries and federal judges have stymied several other probes.
'CREEPY OBSESSION'
Omar has faced political insults from Trump, who has cast the Somali American community as a threat to Minnesota in a burst of anti-Somali and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Omar has called Trump's focus on her an "unhealthy and creepy obsession."
Civil rights advocates have criticized Trump's rhetoric toward minorities and immigrants, including when he previously called Somalis "garbage."
Trump in February said Omar and Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, who also is Muslim, should be "institutionalized" and sent back to "where they came from." Both lawmakers criticized Trump during his State of the Union address as he touted his administration's immigration crackdown and enforcement actions.
Omar has said she and her family have faced death threats, which she attributes to "hateful political rhetoric," especially from Trump.
Last month, a Minnesota man who squirted vinegar on Omar was sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official. Anthony James Kazmierczak admitted to attacking Omar because he disagreed with her progressive views.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill, Andrew Goudsward and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Scott Malone, Michael Learmonth and Will Dunham)
