WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Markwayne Mullin said agents served multiple warrants on the day they searched Ilhan Omar’s Washington home.
  • Mullin called the investigation a strong case and said investigators expect to present it to a grand jury.
  • The inquiry examines immigration records, Omar’s age at the time of her father’s naturalization, and possible immigration fraud.
  • Roughly a dozen grand jury subpoenas seek information connected to the Omar family’s immigration history.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed Friday that federal agents served multiple search warrants on the same day they searched the Washington, D.C., home of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

Speaking on the Charlie Kirk Show podcast, hosted by Andrew Kolvet, Mullin called the investigation a “strong case.” He also said investigators expect to present the case to a grand jury.

“She wasn’t – or it wasn’t the only place we served the warrant. There was multiple other warrants served on that same day,” Mullin said. “We had a judge sign it, and we expect to be able to take the case to a grand jury.”

Mullin stressed that investigators followed the facts and rejected Omar’s contention that she was being politically targeted. He said neither he nor President Trump wanted the investigation moving forward unless they knew it was not politically driven.

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“This was about enforcing once again our nation’s laws, and it’s a strong case,” Mullin said.

No public information has identified the locations searched under the additional warrants or the people targeted by them. Mullin did indicate that coordinated immigration fraud cases could potentially be examined under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO.

Mullin offered a hypothetical example involving someone illegally completing paperwork by claiming a particular identity and background, followed by other people entering under that structure.

“Then that can be considered a RICO case, right? Because there was conspiracy to deceive the American government, and therefore everything else that came in with it could then be looked at [part of] the same case.”

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Mullin also noted that statutes of limitations generally would not prevent authorities from examining conduct stretching across decades when an ongoing enterprise or conspiracy is involved.

The investigation involving Omar centers on immigration paperwork from the middle of the 1990s concerning her family, who arrived in the United States as Somali refugees. Sources familiar with the investigation told multiple outlets that the sealed warrant referenced possible offenses including conspiracy, immigration fraud, and false statements on immigration documents.

One focus is whether Omar’s late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, provided inaccurate information about her age when he naturalized in 2000. Omar has maintained that she obtained derivative United States citizenship as a minor at age 17 through her father’s naturalization.

Investigators are examining whether Omar was listed as a minor when she may have been 18. If she had been 18, she would have needed to file a separate adult application rather than obtain derivative citizenship.

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Sources indicated that denaturalization is one possible outcome under consideration if citizenship was obtained through material concealment or willful misrepresentation. The investigation remains tied to the underlying immigration records and representations.

During the search of Omar’s Washington home, agents seized her cellphone, passport, personal computers, and notebooks. A federal magistrate judge authorized the warrant after discussions with prosecutors about procedures intended to protect legislative materials under the Speech or Debate Clause because Omar is a sitting member of Congress.

Roughly a dozen grand jury subpoenas have been issued as part of the investigation, including one involving Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor. The subpoenas were issued for a grand jury in Minnesota and seek information connected to the family’s immigration history.

The inquiry also coincides with reporting about changes to Omar’s recorded birth year in public records. The New York Post, citing emails and library records, reported that Omar’s congressional staff contacted the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library in May 2019 to request that her listed birth year be changed from 1981 to 1982.

That request came just months after Omar took office following her 2018 election. Library staff also indicated that efforts were underway to update the year on Wikipedia and in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

“On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the library director wrote in a May 24, 2019, email.

The library previously listed Omar’s birth year as 1981 because that year appeared in widely available sources, including Wikipedia and the Biographical Directory. According to the source, the listing lacked supporting documentation.

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