A team of MS NOW correspondents reacted live Monday to Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar‘s house being searched by federal agents, explaining that it could prove to be either a “rallying point” for Democrats during this year’s midterm election cycle or turn out to be a damaging setback for the party.
Omar’s house in Washington, D.C., was searched early Monday as part of a criminal investigation by Homeland Security Investigations agents. The search occurred just a month ahead of this year’s midterm elections in November, in which Omar is up for reelection in Minnesota. She has represented Minnesota’s 5th District since her election in 2018 and was one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to the House of Representatives.
Omar has been a frequent target of scrutiny and derision from President Trump and other high-profile Republicans over the years. Her status as a Somali-born immigrant has been repeatedly questioned. The Justice Department told the Associated Press Monday that the search of her D.C. house was done as part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
Fox News has reported that the investigation stems from “criminal fraud investigations” into Omar’s “immigration paperwork,” which was completed by her father when she was a child. MS NOW justice and intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian was quick to note Monday that there have been right-wing conspiracy theories about Omar’s immigration status for years.
“It’s been simmering in right-wing media and conservative circles for years, but it appears that somehow the Department of Justice has secured a warrant to conduct this search,” Dilanian said. “That’s a big step that requires a judge to determine that there’s probable cause to believe that there’s evidence of a crime.”
“We will not see this affidavit for some time,” he added. “So we don’t know exactly what this is based on, what facts they have.”
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Jeff Mason noted that Omar does not have an “uplifting history” with Trump or many members of his administration.
“The president has been very critical of Omar, along with her fellow ‘squad members’ over the years, starting during his first term and [he] has often disparaged her and disparaged her representation for Minnesota,” Mason said. “She was an elected congresswoman from the state of Minnesota by her district, who the president has clearly had as a target for some time.”
Inside Elections Deputy Director Jacob Rubashkin, meanwhile, told MS NOW’s Erielle Reshef that the Trump administration’s escalated investigation into Omar’s immigration status could either greatly help or hurt the Democratic Party during this year’s forthcoming midterm elections.
“I do think that there’s a potential, certainly in Minnesota, for this to be a rallying point for Democrats who, at least in that Senate race, have been a little bit on their back feet ever since the fraud scandal first came to national prominence earlier this year,” Rubashkin explained, noting, “Of course, if this investigation proceeds and something truly damning comes out, it could have the opposite effect here.”
“By and large, though, I don’t really think voters are looking at 20-year-old or 30-year-old immigration paperwork as the defining issue of this midterm in Minnesota or elsewhere,” he concluded.
