Obama Speaks Out on Ilhan Omar Investigation

Barack Obama says Americans should be alarmed by the federal probe into Rep. Ilhan Omar. In a post on X, Obama accused the Trump administration of using the Justice Department to punish a vocal critic, calling the investigation an effort to revoke the Democratic lawmaker's citizenship and possibly deport her over her political views, the Hill reports.

• In Congress, Obama wrote, Omar has been one of Trump's "fiercest critics, which has led the president to repeatedly single her out as someone who he believes does not belong in this country."
• "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. And it's not the first time this has happened," Obama wrote. "Under President Trump, the Justice Department has repeatedly gone after those he considers his political enemies—from the Attorney General of New York, to the former head of the FBI, to members of the Federal Reserve."

Obama's post follows a raid on Omar's Washington, DC, home, where agents seized her phone as they review whether she or her father misrepresented details in their naturalization process. Omar, who has not been charged, denies wrongdoing and says she is being politically targeted. Trump, who has described Omar as a "terrible person," has said the investigation is "nothing to do" with him.

• Obama predicted that as with similar cases, the Omar investigation would be stalled or "dismissed for having no basis in law"—but not before her "life has been turned upside down, her legal bills have piled up, and she's been forced to spend time fighting unsubstantiated charges instead of serving the people of Minnesota."
• "The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar's political views," Obama wrote. "Because if this becomes the new normal, there's no reason to believe it will stop with her—or that future presidents, in either party, won't do the same."
• The BBC notes that during Obama's campaign and two terms in office, Trump repeatedly raised doubts about his citizenship, falsely claiming that he was born outside the US, though Obama didn't mention that background in his post on X.