Obama calls Trump administration's probe of Ilhan Omar 'appalling'
Former President Barack Obama on Sunday called the Trump team's probe of Ilhan Omar, a Democrat in Congress, "appalling." In a long post on X, he said the government wants to deport her because she criticizes the president. The White House said President Donald Trump has not used the Justice Department against his foes.
Former President Barack Obama on Sunday condemned the federal investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in a long post on X, NBC News and Fox News reported.
"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," Obama wrote, according to NBC News and Fox News.
Federal agents searched Omar's Washington home last week as part of the investigation, NBC News and Fox News reported. Fox News reported that investigators are looking at whether Omar or her father committed fraud on immigration paperwork when she became a citizen. NBC News reported, citing a person familiar with the investigation, that possible charges cited by federal officials include conspiracy and making false statements in immigration paperwork. The Justice Department has not revealed evidence against her, NBC News reported.
Obama wrote that Omar came to the US with her father at 12 and became a citizen at 17 when her father was naturalized. He said the government is relying on an "unsubstantiated theory" that she was really 18 at the time, NBC News and Fox News reported. "To understand why this is so appalling, it's important to know the facts," he wrote, Fox News reported.
Obama also wrote that if this "becomes the new normal, there's no reason to believe it will stop with her." NBC News noted that such a long statement is unusual for Obama since he left office.
The White House pushed back in a statement, Fox News reported. "Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump has not weaponized the Department of Justice against his political foes," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said. "The Department is focused on restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe."
Trump has said the matter is up to the Justice Department, NBC News and Fox News reported. "I've always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me," Trump said, according to Fox News.
Omar has called the search "an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement," NBC News reported.
What we know: Obama called the probe of Omar an effort to intimidate a critic.
What we don't: Whether the Justice Department will bring charges.
Where outlets agree NBC News and Fox News both report that Obama wrote on X that "the full weight of the federal government" is being used against Omar because she criticizes the president, and both describe the search of her Washington home.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.
That’s the last story in this edition. See every brief from Mon, Oct 19, 2026.