Former US President Barack Obama has condemned the Trump administration’s investigation into Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, calling its actions an “appalling” attempt to target a political opponent and intimidate an elected official.
The remarks followed a search of Omar’s Washington, DC, home by federal agents last week. The search has raised questions about the timing and scope of the probe, particularly with the US midterm elections approaching. The Justice Department has not publicly disclosed evidence supporting the allegations, and the investigation does not establish that Omar committed a crime.
Omar was born in Somalia and came to the United States with her father when she was 12. Obama said her father became a naturalized US citizen five years later, when Omar was 17, allowing her to acquire citizenship automatically as a minor. The former president said the Trump administration appeared to be pursuing a theory that Omar was actually 18 when her father became a citizen and therefore did not qualify for citizenship through him.
“The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president,” Obama wrote. Agents seized personal records and her phone as part of the investigation, according to media reports . A person familiar with the investigation said potential charges cited by federal officials included conspiracy and making false statements in immigration paperwork, according to NBC News. “The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views,” Obama wrote.
He alleged that the administration was seeking to deport her based on an unsubstantiated claim about her citizenship status. In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Obama criticized the federal investigation into Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and one of President Donald Trump’s vocal critics.
