Vance says White House will not ‘micromanage’ Justice Dept. probe of Rep. Ilhan Omar
by Mary McCue Bell · The Washington TimesThe Trump administration has no plans to wade into the Justice Department’s investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar following a federal enforcement raid on her home, Vice President J.D. Vance said.
Instead, the White House will let the investigation unfold, he said Tuesday.
“We’re not trying to micromanage this,” Mr. Vance told Fox News Digital. “We’re not trying to tell [Attorney General] Todd Blanche to do one thing or another. We try to let the facts drive this thing.”
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Federal agents searched the Washington-area home of the Minnesota Democrat as part of an ongoing criminal investigation linked to historical immigration paperwork.
On Monday morning, agents with Homeland Security Investigations — an investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — executed a judicially authorized search warrant at the congresswoman’s home.
Days before the search, President Trump suggested at a Tennessee rally that “our people” were investigating her.
SEE ALSO: Rep. Ilhan Omar fundraises off of federal raid of her D.C. residence
While no charges have been announced, reports indicate the multiyear probe centers on alleged immigration fraud, specifically focusing on paperwork completed by her late father when Ms. Omar was a child.
In March, the vice president said that Ms. Omar “definitely committed immigration fraud.”
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Mr. Vance shook his finger at the Biden administration, echoing GOP sentiment that the former president weaponized the federal government.
In the Trump administration, he said, “The president and I really don’t butt ourselves in the DOJ investigations.”
“We don’t want to be like the Biden administration. We never want to be like that — where they would allow the law to go after their political opponents,” he said.
Critics from both parties have accused Mr. Trump and former President Joseph R. Biden of using the federal government to go after their political adversaries.
Mr. Trump said he was not personally involved in directing the operation, though he reiterated sharp criticisms of Ms. Omar.
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The search occurred three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, where Ms. Omar is running for her fifth term.
Ms. Omar and her office called the raid an “outrageous abuse of power” and an attempt by the Trump administration to “weaponize federal law enforcement” against political opponents. Top Democrats described the timing as deeply disturbing and raised questions about political intimidation.
She denies wrongdoing, saying she is a naturalized citizen and came to the U.S. as a refugee at age 12.
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Mary McCue Bell
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