DOJ Says Ilhan Omar Warrant Ongoing, Targets ‘Other Individuals’ - Newsweek

A search warrant involving U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar remains only partially executed and extends to “other individuals,” the Justice Department has told a federal court.

The details were disclosed in a redacted 47-page document opposing news outlets' request to unseal records on Homeland Security Investigations agents' search of the Minnesota Democrat’s Washington home about 6:05 a.m. on October 12.

The filing on Tuesday said “the United States expects that the warrant will be fully executed in short order.”

Prosecutors also asked for advance notice if the court decides to unseal the records, saying the affidavit is "chock full of privacy interests" and signaling it could file an emergency motion to halt that order pending appeal.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche signed off the warrant and "confirmed that the warrant’s timing did not have “the purpose of affecting any election” or “of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party," the filing said.

Omar has long faced unproven allegations that her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is her brother and that their marriage was intended to obtain immigration benefits. The congresswoman has repeatedly denied the allegations, and her attorney has called the investigation "politically motivated."

After the federal agents searched her home, Omar rejected the brother-marriage allegation in an interview with MSNOW, calling it “insane.” Asked whether Elmi was related to her, Omar responded, “Not to my knowledge.” Her spokesperson later said the answer was sarcastic and that Omar had “repeatedly and unequivocally denied” the allegation.

The filing also makes clear that the investigation extends beyond Omar, saying, “the investigation of [the Subject and] other individuals continues.” It does not publicly identify those other individuals or say what role investigators believe they may have played.

The court filing discusses the search as seeking potential evidence of an “immigration-crime conspiracy, including making a false statement.” Much of the underlying evidence remains sealed. No charges against Omar have been publicly announced, and executing a search warrant does not establish criminal wrongdoing.

Prosecutors said that releasing the records now could reveal what investigators are doing and what evidence they are seeking. The government also said disclosure could allow evidence to be moved, altered, or destroyed or allow witnesses to coordinate their accounts.

If the judge orders the records released, prosecutors asked for enough time to seek an emergency halt while they appeal. The Justice Department said some records could be released with redactions once the warrant is fully executed.

Federal investigators have also issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas as part of the probe, including subpoenas to some of Omar’s relatives, according to CBS News. The subpoenas were issued to a grand jury gathering evidence in Minnesota, suggesting the inquiry extends beyond the search of the congresswoman’s Washington residence.

The administration is probing if Omar or her late father provided false information on immigration documents when the family arrived in the United States as refugees in the 1990s, or during the process of obtaining her citizenship. Omar became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000.

Omar is set to face Republican John Nagel, a retired Minnesota State Patrol lieutenant, in the November 3 general election for control of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.