Seems Like Old Times

Rep. Omar’s lawyers sent a letter to DOJ prosecutors

They also sought the preservation of any records from a 2019 inquiry into Omar’s immigration history, which unfolded during Trump’s first administration. The Post reported Thursday that as part of that review, career immigration officials examined many of the same issues at the heart of the current probe — including questions over Omar’s birth date and her father’s military record in Somalia — and determined there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing to warrant a full investigation.

“The political motivations behind this pre-election investigation and search are clear as day,” Omar’s attorneys wrote, adding: “This search was neither justified nor lawful.”

Desperately searching for something in the last seven years they can use to establish a RICO violation. Everything old is old again.

As for the search itself:

Among the restrictions the attorneys said agents did not follow were provisions requiring investigators to provide Omar’s lawyers with a copy of the warrant and to contact the House Office of General Counsel before carrying out the search. That would have given Omar the chance to consult with congressional attorneys on any legislative work product that might have been exempt from federal seizure, her lawyers said.

Her lawyers say she wasn’t given that opportunity until an hour into the search. Now ordinarily, DOJ would decline comment. But this is Trump’s DOJ:

A Justice Department spokesperson dismissed the letter as “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies.”

“Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith. It is a publicity play.”

Trump’s DOJ can’t resist an opportunity to try this case in the court of public opinion. 

Omar's lawyers said:

“There is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status,” the letter read. “Still, recent experience teaches that the absence of a proper predicate has not stopped this Administration from pursuing politically motivated criminal investigations into President Trump’s opponents.”

Trump’s DOJ seems determined to prove them right.