Justice Department pushes to keep Ilhan Omar search warrant under seal for now

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Justice Department pushes to keep Ilhan Omar search warrant under seal for now
Federal prosecutors asked a judge Tuesday to reject a request from more than a dozen news organizations to immediately unseal the search warrant for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) Washington, D.C., home, saying it could jeopardize the ongoing criminal investigation.
A heavily redacted filing signed by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, argues that the media’s request is premature because the warrant has not yet been fully executed and no decision on charges has been announced.
“Unsealing everything now imperils the investigation, and publicly exposes suspected criminal wrongdoing against which may yet mount a defense in court,” the prosecutors wrote.
Pirro’s office noted that it does not oppose unsealing some of the redacted documents later “so the public can see how the legal process played out,” but urged the judge to hold off for now.
“The Search Warrant Records need not remain sealed indefinitely,” prosecutors wrote. “The United States trusts that, with the Court’s help, the warrant will be fully executed soon, and it anticipates that a public charging decision will follow.”
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee who serves as the chief judge on the federal bench in D.C., is overseeing the case.
It was brought by 14 news organizations three days after federal agents raided Omar’s Washington home as part of a criminal probe into alleged immigration fraud. The congresswoman has since said she intends to move out of the apartment due to death threats.
The scope of the investigation has not been made public, but reports indicate it is focused on accusations that Omar’s father may have lied about her age on immigration paperwork. Omar was around 12 years old when her family came to the U.S. from Somalia and obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000.
The news organizations called for “maximum transparency” in their request to the judge, arguing that the “enormous public interest and historic significance” outweigh “any potential interest in their continued secrecy.”
The timing of the search drew scrutiny, as the Justice Department typically refrains from taking major actions against candidates for office close to an election. Omar is seeking her fifth term in the House.
“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” Omar wrote on social media after the raid. “For ten years, [President] Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.”
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