Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington home on October 12 as part of a criminal investigation involving immigration paperwork. That night, Donald Trump used his Youngstown, Ohio, rally to complain about the Somali-born Minnesota Democrat invoking her rights. ABC News reported his words:
“And she comes into our country, and she says, 'I have a constitutional right.'”
Yes, Donald. She does. What a deeply inconvenient feature of the country you run.
Omar became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. ABC reported that she denied wrongdoing and had not been charged when its October 13 account was published. The investigation is a real event. It is not a conviction, and it does not turn an American citizen into a guest waiting for the president to renew her invitation.
The Associated Press subsequently reported, citing a person briefed on the probe, that authorities seized her phone and issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some relatives. AP said the scope of the investigation was unclear.
On October 16, her attorneys asked the Justice Department to return the seized property and preserve recordings of the search. In a letter obtained by AP, they called the search “neither justified nor lawful” and accused the administration of political targeting. DOJ disputed their account and said investigators “complied with all court orders and legal obligations.” These are opposing accounts, not a court ruling resolving the search's legality.
Trump said on October 13 that he took no position on whether Omar should be deported. He also said after the search that he had no involvement and that it was up to the Justice Department, according to AP. Vice President JD Vance said he had not been given advance notice and defended the administration as following the facts.
Nobody needs to invent a secret instruction from Trump to see what he publicly contributed. Hours after federal agents searched a political opponent's home, he made her assertion of constitutional rights sound like another outrageous demand from a foreigner.
We documented Trump's earlier demand that Minnesota fight back against Somali immigrants. This is a new episode. Citizenship is not a loyalty program, and a president's dislike does not erase a citizen's rights.
Investigators can make their case. Her lawyers can challenge it. Trump can even discover that the Constitution has clauses he doesn't personally enjoy. Omar's rights do not need his enthusiasm.
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