THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Former President Barack Obama publicly defended Rep. Ilhan Omar Sunday following a federal search of her Washington home.
- Obama accused the Trump administration of using government power to intimidate a political opponent.
- Trump denies directing the investigation, and Omar has not been charged with a crime.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Ilhan Omar has acquired a new defender in her escalating confrontation with the Trump Justice Department.
Barack Obama.
The former president jumped into the controversy Sunday, blasting the federal investigation into the Minnesota Democrat’s immigration history and accusing the Trump administration of using government power to intimidate a political opponent.
Obama called the situation “appalling” and warned Americans that the investigation should concern them regardless of their opinion of Omar.
“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 declared.
That’s a sweeping conclusion from a former president about an investigation whose evidence has not been publicly laid out.
Federal Homeland Security investigators searched Omar’s Washington residence last week pursuant to a judicially authorized warrant. The investigation reportedly concerns questions about immigration documentation associated with her acquisition of American citizenship in 2000.
Investigators are reportedly examining whether Omar’s father provided inaccurate information concerning her age during the naturalization process.
Omar maintains that she lawfully became a citizen at 17 through her father’s naturalization. She has denied allegations of immigration fraud.
Obama argued that authorities were searching for what he described as a “nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago.”
He went further, saying the administration’s actions “should outrage all Americans” regardless of their views about Omar.
And he warned that allowing this approach to become normal could encourage future presidents of either party to pursue similar investigations against political opponents.
Holding elected office doesn’t place someone beyond legitimate investigation when investigators have lawful grounds to examine possible wrongdoing.
That’s why the actual evidence and the legal basis for the government’s actions matter more than the political identities of the people involved. Obama’s statement treats the investigation as retaliation. T
Trump, for his part, has denied personal involvement. “I think she’s a terrible person, but that’s really up to the DOJ,” Trump told reporters. “I have nothing to do with it.”
Omar has condemned the search as political intimidation and demanded the return of property seized by investigators.
Her attorneys have also challenged the government’s conduct during the search. The Justice Department maintains that the operation complied with legal requirements.
Obama spent years confronting claims about his own citizenship. His decision to intervene in Omar’s case inevitably brings that history back into the conversation.
And with the midterms approaching, the former president has now placed himself directly into one of the administration’s most politically explosive investigations.
The question is whether his defense helps Omar politically, puts additional scrutiny on the Justice Department or simply guarantees that the controversy dominates another news cycle.
Washington has no shortage of people willing to deliver a verdict before the public has seen the evidence. What would be genuinely refreshing is getting the facts first and the speeches afterward.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- New York Post — Obama defends Ilhan Omar in statement
- Axios — Obama’s intervention in Omar citizenship investigation
- Associated Press — Omar’s attorneys demand return of seized property
- Washington Post — Obama’s October 18 statement
