Just a reminder that the judge who signed off on the Ilhan Omar search warrant is a Democrat who was appointed by Democrats, donated to Democrats including Hillary Clinton and clerked for an Obama judge.
So Obama is accusing a Democrat DC judge of political weaponization?
It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government canāt selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say. But thatās exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
To understand why this is so appalling, itās important to know the facts. Congresswoman Omar came to this country with her father when she was 12 years old. Five years later, her father became a naturalized citizen. If Ilhan had been 18 at the time, she would have had to apply for citizenship separately. But because she was 17, she became a naturalized citizen automatically.
Congresswoman Omar went on to graduate from college, work as a community organizer, become the first Somali-American legislator elected to public office in the U.S., and win a seat in Congress. There, she has been one of the Trump Administrationās fiercest critics, which has led the president to repeatedly single her out as someone who he believes does not belong in this country.
Now the Administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar, seemingly based solely on the unsubstantiated theory that she was actually 18 when her father was naturalized, and therefore is not a citizen. Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone ā all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case.
Think about that. 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. And itās not the first time this has happened. Under President Trump, the Justice Department has repeatedly gone after those he considers his political enemies ā from the Attorney General of New York, to the former head of the FBI, to members of the Federal Reserve.
In those cases, the prosecutions either stalled or were dismissed for having no basis in law, and the same is likely to happen in this case. But not before Congresswoman Omarās life has been turned upside down, her legal bills have piled up, and sheās been forced to spend time fighting unsubstantiated charges instead of serving the people of Minnesota.
The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omarās political views. Because if this becomes the new normal, thereās no reason to believe it will stop with her ā or that future presidents, in either party, wonāt do the same.