CNN legal analyst: Biden-era inquiry into Omar hurts her case against Trump

CNN anchor Jake Tapper questioned whether Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) should have come forward about any potential issues with her immigration status during the Biden administration rather than face a criminal investigation under President Trump.

Federal agents raided Omar’s Washington, D.C., home with a court-authorized search warrant Monday as part of a criminal investigation into alleged immigration fraud, which she has denied.

In an interview with CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, Tapper suggested Omar might have been better off voluntarily disclosing any mistakes in her immigration paperwork during former President Biden’s time in office.

“If this is true, would it not have been wiser for the congresswoman to have gone to the Biden Justice Department and said, ‘This is what happened, and there was a mistake, and I’d like to come clean and pay whatever fine’?” Tapper said. “And then that way this is not left up to the Trump Justice Department?”

Honig acknowledged that Omar may have “fared better” under the Biden administration, considering she has sparred with Trump on numerous occasions over immigration policy, but said the decision would have posed a difficult legal dilemma.

He pointed to a separate investigation opened against Omar under the Biden administration in June 2024 examining her finances.

“I think that’s going to undermine any argument she may have down the line that this is politically selective and vindictive,” Honig said.

He did acknowledge, however, that Trump’s public attacks against Omar — including calling her “garbage” — could strengthen her argument that she is being targeted specifically.

“Donald Trump has given her plenty of ammo to argue that she’s being singled out for personal reasons,” the legal analyst noted.

The White House announced last year it would launch a criminal investigation into Omar, a Somali native, to examine whether she committed fraud in obtaining U.S. citizenship.

Authorities seized the Minnesota Democrat’s phone during a search of her home Monday and issued grand jury subpoenas to several relatives including her sister, Sahra Noor, according to reports.

Other reports stated investigators are determining whether Omar misrepresented her age on immigration documents, which could affect whether she was eligible to obtain citizenship through her father as a minor.

Trump and other GOP figures have levied numerous allegations of immigration fraud against Omar, including claims that she married her brother to help him immigrate into the country.

Omar, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000 after fleeing Somalia with her family as a child, has repeatedly denied allegations of immigration fraud, and accused the administration of being politically motivated in its efforts to deport her.

The investigation comes less than three weeks before the midterm elections, where Omar is seeking reelection in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.