Federal Agents Seize Ilhan Omar’s Phone and Passport in Home Raid
Rep. Ilhan Omar and her husband were at their Washington home Monday morning when federal agents served a search warrant and seized her cellphone, notebooks, personal computers and passport, according to a new report.
The Minnesota Democrat is the subject of two separate federal investigations, The Post confirmed Wednesday. Prosecutors in Minnesota are examining possible immigration fraud, while the office of DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is investigating the finances of Omar and her husband, Tim Mynett.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials and people familiar with the case, reported that the immigration inquiry could ultimately seek to revoke Omar’s citizenship and deport her.
Federal law permits the government to revoke a person’s US citizenship if it was obtained through the willful misrepresentation or concealment of important facts. The Trump administration recently initiated denaturalization proceedings against 40 US citizens accused of offenses including tax fraud, child pornography and espionage for China.
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Investigators may examine whether Omar improperly obtained derivative US citizenship through her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, by falsely claiming she was a minor when the benefit was granted in 2000.
Some records identify Omar’s birthdate as Oct. 4, 1981, while others list the year as 1982. If the 1981 date is correct, she would have been 19 when her father received citizenship and would not have qualified for the benefit available to minors.
The Post reported Tuesday that after Omar was first elected to the House in 2018, members of her staff urged the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress and Wikipedia to list her birth year as 1982 instead of 1981.
If investigators determine that Omar provided a false birthdate on an official document, such as a passport renewal or bank-loan application, she could face prosecution. Naturalization fraud carries a 10-year statute of limitations, while civil denaturalization proceedings are not subject to a time limit.
Omar has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In a statement to the Journal on Wednesday, her office said: “President Trump would love to eliminate one of the most effective progressive voices in Congress. There is no basis for this.”
