THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Federal investigators seized Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s phone, according to new Associated Press reporting.
- More than a dozen grand jury subpoenas have been issued, including to Omar’s relatives, as investigators examine possible fraud in her family’s immigration paperwork.
- Omar calls the investigation political intimidation. No charges against her have been announced, but federal prosecutors say any crimes uncovered will be prosecuted.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Federal investigators now have something considerably more personal than Ilhan Omar’s immigration paperwork.
They have her phone.
That’s the significant new development in the criminal investigation surrounding the Minnesota Democrat, whose Washington, D.C., home was searched Monday by federal agents.
According to an Associated Press report published Wednesday, authorities seized Omar’s phone and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including some directed at members of her family.
The information came from a person briefed on the investigation who spoke anonymously because the inquiry remains ongoing.
For a case already examining decades-old immigration records, the seizure adds another dimension. Investigators are not simply requesting historical documents and interviewing relatives. They have also taken possession of a device belonging to the congresswoman herself.
What investigators hope to learn from the phone, whether they have examined its contents, and precisely what information they are authorized to search have not been publicly disclosed.
The subpoenas are connected to a grand jury gathering evidence in Minnesota as federal authorities examine possible fraud involving Omar’s immigration paperwork.
The central question involves whether Omar or her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, provided inaccurate information during the immigration and citizenship process.
Omar arrived in the United States from Somalia in 1995 and has said she became an American citizen through her father’s naturalization before turning 18.
Investigators have reportedly examined questions surrounding her birthdate and details of her father’s background. Those matters were already receiving attention before Wednesday’s disclosure about her phone.
The Daily BS previously reported that Omar’s congressional staff requested a correction to her publicly listed birth year in 2019, changing it from 1981 to 1982. Minnesota’s Legislative Reference Library indicated that its original information had been entered without supporting documentation.
That correction does not establish immigration fraud. The unresolved question is whether any actual immigration documents contained knowingly false information.
The phone seizure and expanded subpoena count come as authorities pursue an investigation whose full scope remains unclear.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested investigators are examining possible crimes involving immigration paperwork submitted by Omar’s family.
Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has confirmed a separate federal examination involving Omar’s financial disclosures.
“There are several investigations going on,” Pirro said during a Tuesday Fox News interview.
And she made clear what would happen if prosecutors establish criminal wrongdoing.
“If there was a crime that was committed, it will be prosecuted.”
An investigation, a seized phone and grand jury subpoenas are not convictions, and federal authorities have not publicly announced criminal charges against Omar.
Omar insists the entire affair is political.
“I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” she wrote after Monday’s search.
“For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.”
She added: “I will not be silenced.”
Democrats have also questioned the timing of the investigation, which became public just weeks before the November midterm elections.
The Justice Department has historically discouraged overt investigative steps involving political candidates close to elections, although that guidance does not automatically prohibit every such action.
For now, federal authorities have not publicly explained what evidence justified taking Omar’s phone or what investigators expect the device to reveal.
But Wednesday’s disclosure makes one thing clear: This investigation has moved well beyond the political arguments that have surrounded Omar’s immigration history for years.
The grand jury is collecting evidence. Members of her family have received subpoenas. And federal investigators have the congresswoman’s phone.
What that evidence actually establishes remains the question prosecutors will have to answer.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- Associated Press — Rep. Ilhan Omar’s phone seized and relatives subpoenaed in criminal probe
- Fox News — Politics coverage and federal investigation updates
- Wall Street Journal — Ilhan Omar investigation aims to build case for stripping citizenship
- Washington Post — Investigation focuses on Omar’s birthdate and citizenship papers
- The Guardian — Omar’s phone seized and relatives subpoenaed in criminal inquiry
