Obama condemns investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar

Former President Barack Obama condemned the federal investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar on October 18, saying the Trump administration was targeting the Minnesota Democrat because of her political beliefs and criticism of President Donald Trump. Obama described the inquiry as an effort to intimidate a political opponent, a claim about the administration’s motives that was not independently established in the reports. The statement followed a search by federal agents at Omar’s Washington, D.C., home the previous week, according to the reporting. The search was connected to an investigation into her immigration status. One report said investigators were examining whether Omar or her father committed fraud on immigration paperwork, citing unnamed sources. No investigator’s statement or supporting records were provided in the supplied reporting. Obama said Omar arrived in the United States with her father at age 12 and became a citizen at 17 when her father was naturalized. He argued that the investigation was based on a theory that she was 18 at the time, which, in his account, would have meant she needed to apply for citizenship separately. Those details were presented as Obama’s...