Ilhan Omar Home Search: Lawyers Say Judge’s Limits Ignored
The ilhan omar home search is under fire from the congresswoman’s own lawyers, who say federal agents ignored key restrictions a judge placed on Monday’s search of her Washington residence and are demanding the immediate return of everything seized.
Attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz laid out the allegations in a letter sent Friday to Justice Department prosecutors, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. They condemned the immigration-history investigation as a politically motivated attack on one of President Donald Trump’s chief critics, saying it “violates Representative Omar’s constitutional rights.”
Restrictions the Lawyers Say Were Ignored
The attorneys said investigators did not follow specific instructions a U.S. magistrate judge imposed on how the search should be carried out when Homeland Security Investigations agents descended on Omar’s Northeast Washington home early Monday. Among them: providing Omar’s lawyers with a copy of the warrant and contacting the House Office of General Counsel before the search, which would have let congressional attorneys weigh in on any legislative material exempt from seizure.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the letter, Omar was prevented from contacting counsel for more than an hour at the start of the search. The letter also says she was presented with a waiver she did not sign, and that no one from the U.S. attorney’s office or the Justice Department was present to explain her Speech or Debate Clause protections — meaning her team never got the chance to identify or set aside protected congressional materials.
DOJ Calls the Claims False
A Justice Department spokeswoman pushed back hard. Emily Covington said the letter was “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies,” adding that attorneys and law enforcement “complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do.”
The search focused on whether Omar or family members lied on decades-old immigration paperwork; agents seized her cellphone, passport, notebooks and personal computers, the Journal reported. The lawyers’ letter also faulted the timing — the search came less than three weeks before the November 3 midterms, in which Omar is seeking re-election — arguing the department has historically avoided such steps so close to an election.
The attorneys want every item returned and copies of any audio or video recordings made inside the home.
Source: The Washington Post