Rep. Ilhan Omar looks on during a news conference on reintroducing the Neighbors Not Enemies Act on Capitol Hill on Jan. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)
By Michael Austin October 17, 2026 at 3:34pm
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has framed the current federal investigation into her immigration history as a targeted attack from President Donald Trump.
But his predecessor’s administration had already been probing the lawmaker before Trump resumed office.
The New York Times published a report in January of this year noting that now-former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department had opened an investigation regarding Omar.
The officials wanted to examine her finances, campaign expenditures, and links to a foreign citizen, sources told The New York Times.
The probe was launched by the Justice Department’s public integrity unit in June 2024.
Now it can be told.
Biden DOJ investigated Ilhan Omar in 2024 over her finances, campaign spending, and ties to a foreign national (not identified). https://t.co/YfQd62rH5f https://t.co/xdckyD8Qco
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) January 27, 2026
But the investigation “stalled for lack of evidence,” one of the sources said.
The New York Times said that Trump had posted about the inquiry on Truth Social, taking Justice Department officials by surprise.
Do you think the investigation into Ilhan Omar was politically motivated?
“The DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars,” Trump said in January.
“Time will tell all.”
At the time, Omar responded to Trump by insisting she was innocent of any alleged wrongdoing.
BREAKING WSJ:
The Trump admin’s investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar is aimed at building a case to strip her of her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her, according to U.S. officials and other people familiar with the probe. https://t.co/PHvSOihjJN
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 14, 2026
“Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” Omar wrote on social media.
“Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing.”
The news about the mothballed Biden investigation came months before the Trump administration raided her home in Washington, D.C.
Omar allegedly changed her birth year from 1981 to 1982 in the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, meaning that although she claimed that she was 17 when her father’s naturalization granted her citizenship, she may have been 18 instead.
Omar has insisted that the raid was an example of political targeting from Trump.
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Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations, guiding the publication’s editorial direction, and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Pop Culture, Christian-Conservatism
