❌

Normal view

Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. home

12 October 2026 at 19:00

Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C., home of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, on Monday morning as part of a criminal investigation, following months of public accusations against the congresswoman by President Donald Trump and members of his administration.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant authorized by a federal judge, according to the Associated Press and The Washington Post.

“This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

The department did not disclose the scope of the investigation or what agents were seeking. Fox News reported, citing unidentified sources, that investigators were examining immigration paperwork completed by Omar’s late father when she was a child.

The search follows repeated allegations of immigration fraud from Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, who previously said he discussed potential legal action against Omar with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Somalia, has repeatedly denied the allegations. Federal officials have not publicly presented evidence substantiating them.

Trump has frequently singled out Omar, an outspoken critic of his administration and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress. His attacks have included calls for her to leave the United States and repeated references to a Minnesota welfare fraud scandal in which Omar has not been accused of wrongdoing.


Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.


The search comes just three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections — and after voting has already begun in Minnesota.

Absentee voting in the state opened Sept. 18, according to the Minnesota secretary of state’s office. Omar is seeking reelection to Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis.

The Justice Department has longstanding policies discouraging investigative actions intended to influence elections. Federal officials have not explained whether election-related considerations factored into the timing of Monday’s search.

Omar’s office had not issued a public response to the search as of the latest reporting. No charges have been announced.

The post Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. home appeared first on Salon.com.

“Very serious threats”: FBI officials demoted after Katie Miller theats probe

27 September 2026 at 21:00

Two veteran FBI counterterrorism officials were demoted after investigators determined allegedly harassing calls to a top White House aide’s wife did not warrant further investigation, according to multiple reports.

Michael Burgwald, who led counterterrorism operations at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were removed from their leadership positions Friday and reassigned to FBI headquarters.

The shakeup followed an investigation into allegedly threatening and harassing calls received by Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

A field office team reviewed the calls but found they did not meet the threshold for an FBI investigation and identified no connection to terrorism, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

That conclusion reportedly caused friction with FBI leadership.

Bloomberg Law, which first reported the demotions, said Washington Field Office leadership was dissatisfied with the pace of the investigation and that the Miller family shared those frustrations. FBI Director Kash Patel was also displeased with the office’s progress, according to the outlet.

The FBI and White House have pushed back on suggestions that the Millers or Patel ordered the personnel changes.

Washington Field Office chief Darren Cox said he made the decision himself.

“Director Patel did not order this decision,” Cox said. “This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs.”

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the Millers had never met or interacted with Burgwald or Rae.

“Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them,” Bis said.

Details about the calls themselves have not been made public, leaving unclear what investigators reviewed or why they concluded the messages did not warrant further FBI action.


Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.


The reassignments also remove decades of counterterrorism experience from the Washington office as the United States remains at war with Iran.

Burgwald is a West Point graduate who has received multiple attorney general’s awards. Rae helped oversee the FBI’s response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Both officials also worked on investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The Millers and their children moved from their Virginia home into military housing last year amid what the White House has described as a campaign of stalking, doxing and threats against the family.

The post “Very serious threats”: FBI officials demoted after Katie Miller theats probe appeared first on Salon.com.

❌