Judge limited access to Ilhan Omar’s records before approving search: CNN

[Federal Judge Imposes Strict Access Controls on Ilhan Omar’s Seized Files Before Search Warrant Approval]

• US magistrate judge Matthew Sharbaugh required prosecutors to implement a rigorous screening process to protect Rep. Ilhan Omar’s legislative work from investigators.
• Authorities executed a surprise raid at the congresswoman’s Washington home on Monday as part of an immigration fraud investigation.

Updated 2 min 18 sec ago

October 16, 2026 15:40

LONDON: A federal judge restricted how the Justice Department could access records seized from Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home before approving a search warrant, citing constitutional protections for members of Congress, CNN reported this week.

US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh required prosecutors to create a screening process to protect Omar’s legislative work from investigators, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation.

The restrictions derive from the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which safeguards legislators’ legislative activities from government scrutiny and interference.

The Donald Trump administration had advocated for an exceptionally aggressive search in an immigration fraud probe investigating possible false statements on official documents and a potential conspiracy, according to CNN reports.

Federal agents searched Omar’s residence early on Monday, confiscating her cellphone, notebooks, personal computing devices, and passport. Authorities have additionally issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including targeted requests concerning information held by some of her close relatives.

The investigation focuses on whether Omar—or her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed—misrepresented her age on immigration documentation. Should she have been 18 instead of 17 when her father naturalized in 2000, she would have needed to file a separate citizenship application rather than doing so through her father.

Investors are also exploring unverified claims that Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is actually her brother, implying that she wed him to facilitate his citizenship pathway.

Sources told CNN that prosecutors contemplated expanding the case toward a broader conspiracy inquiry, though those aware of the facts cautioned that proven allegations might still pose statutory limitation challenges.

The Justice Department confirmed the court-authorized search but has refrained from public comment regarding the investigation or subpoenas.

Omar denounced the raid and the scrutiny as “political harassment” by the Trump administration. The incumbent president has repeatedly questioned her citizenship status and urged her deportation.

She entered the United States as a Somali refugee in 1995, attained citizenship in 2000, and was elected to represent Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in 2018. Currently serving a second term, she runs for reelection less than one month before the midterm elections conclude.

The search originated amid heightened attention to the Justice Department’s handling of a case involving another prominent anti‑Trump figure. CNN reporting indicated the bureau sought extensive access to home-based records earlier, but Sharbaugh ruled that prosecutorial access was permissible only under safeguards protecting her legislative work.

Any subsequent criminal proceedings relying on the seized materials may experience delays caused by the mandatory screening process. The Washington Post noted that Trump officials scrutinized Omar in 2019 but found no citizenship irregularities at that time.

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