The Justice Department issued a dozen subpoenas Friday in an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, including to members of her family, a person familiar with the investigation said.
The congresswoman herself has not been subpoenaed, the source said, adding that the orders to obtain information are linked to a federal grand jury in Minnesota, Omar’s home state.
The investigation is looking into matters related to Omar’s immigration status, and that includes, but is not limited to, his date of birth, the source said. Omar, who was born in Somalia and moved to the United States with her family in the 1990s, was naturalized at age 17, meaning she was a minor and could obtain citizenship through a parent.
Investigators are trying to speak with Omar’s sister but have not yet issued her subpoena, the source said.
The investigation is seeking information to see where it leads, the source said. For example, if records, statements related to age and immigration status contain false information, this would provide investigators with material to examine in more detail. They could also review communications related to these issues.
The Justice Department declined to comment to NBC News, and a spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoenas.
The subpoenas came just days before federal agents raided Omar’s Washington, D.C., home as part of a yearlong criminal investigation that focuses in part on immigration fraud, a person familiar with the matter said. The investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis and the Justice Department, involved whistleblowers, documents and testimony, the source added.
After her home was searched Monday, Omar said in a statement to
Asked Monday if he knew about the search in advance, President Donald Trump said the federal government was looking at Omar “very carefully.” He also repeated his frequent attacks on her and Somalia in general, calling her a “terrible person” coming from a nation that is a “non-country.”
“Then she comes here and complains about our Constitution,” Trump said. “I think he’s a terrible person, but it really depends on the DOJ.”
That evening, Trump also attacked Omar during remarks at a rally he held for Republicans in Ohio.
“I don’t know what they’re doing with it, but I can tell you this: It’s a disaster,” Trump said. “She comes from a country with no laws, no police, no army, where all they do is shoot each other, and she comes to our country and she says, ‘I have a constitutional right.'”
Omar, part of a group of progressive women in Congress known as the “Squad,” has been a frequent target of Trump’s rhetoric against her and other members’ liberal positions, as well as against Somali immigrants in general.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared to tease federal action against Omar last month when he said “something was going to happen” with her, but the investigation was still ongoing.
“If we’re actually moving something forward, it’s not a political thing,” Mullin said. “This is a real case because they did it wrong. If you decided to break the law or lie (about) the information that you provided to the United States to be able to enter the United States through asylum or because you just wanted to seek a better life, but you didn’t tell us who you really were, you lied about certain things about your application – those things, that doesn’t expire.”
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