By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Federal investigators reportedly searched discarded household garbage for DNA evidence connected to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and members of her family before executing search warrants earlier this week, according to new reporting suggesting that the criminal investigation may extend beyond previously disclosed immigration fraud allegations.
NewsNation anchor Leland Vittert disclosed Friday, Oct. 16, that multiple sources familiar with the investigation described efforts to obtain genetic material before federal agents searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence Monday. His report came as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed that investigators had executed additional warrants and expected to present evidence to a grand jury.
The latest developments raise questions about the scope of the investigation, which has publicly centered on allegations involving immigration and naturalization paperwork submitted decades ago. Federal authorities have not confirmed the reported DNA collection or publicly explained what investigators intended to establish through genetic testing.
“Multiple sources have confirmed to me that federal agents went dumpster diving to get DNA from Ilhan Omar and her family before that blockbuster raid on her DC home earlier this week,” Vittert reported during his Friday broadcast.
He indicated that investigators were examining matters beyond longstanding accusations concerning Omar’s immigration history and family relationships.
“I’m told this investigation extends FAR beyond the most familiar case and accusation against Omar that she married her brother to gain citizenship or that she falsified her birth date to gain entry as a minor,” Vittert said.
Those allegations have circulated for years, but they have not been established in court. Omar has consistently denied immigration fraud and accusations concerning her marriages.
Vittert said his sources expected the investigation to continue beyond the November 3 midterm elections and potentially result in criminal charges involving additional individuals.
“The investigation involves additional family members and will be part of a grand jury investigation that goes long past the general election,” he said.
“Sources tell me that the likely coming indictments will be stunning in nature and far beyond anything the public has understood the case to be about.”
The prediction concerning indictments remains an assertion attributed to unnamed sources. Prosecutors have not announced charges against Omar, and a grand jury has not publicly returned an indictment in the matter.
NewsNation separately reported that agents collected discarded household material in hopes of obtaining DNA evidence that investigators considered potentially significant to the inquiry.
Law enforcement agencies sometimes collect biological material from trash placed outside a home’s protected areas because discarded items may be legally available for examination without a search warrant. Whether such evidence can be used in a particular case depends on the circumstances of collection and applicable legal protections.
The reported effort does not establish that investigators successfully obtained usable DNA, that laboratory testing produced reliable results or that any genetic evidence implicates Omar or her relatives in criminal wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Mullin provided separate confirmation that Monday’s search involved more than the congresswoman’s residence.
During a Friday interview with Andrew Kolvet on The Charlie Kirk Show, the homeland security secretary revealed that multiple judicially authorized warrants had been executed as part of the investigation.
“She wasn’t — or it wasn’t the only place we served the warrant,” Mullin said.
“There was multiple other warrants served on that same day. We had a judge sign it, and we expect to be able to take the case to a grand jury.”
Mullin defended the investigation against accusations that federal authorities were targeting Omar because of her opposition to President Donald Trump.
“This was about enforcing, once again, our nation’s laws,” he said. “And it’s a strong case.”
His comments were also circulated in a separate video posted Friday, drawing additional attention to the number of warrants executed and the possibility of broader criminal proceedings.
According to CBS News, Mullin also discussed whether coordinated immigration fraud could potentially constitute racketeering under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The secretary raised that possibility while discussing a hypothetical scheme involving fraudulent immigration paperwork used to bring additional individuals into the United States.
He did not announce that Omar was under investigation for racketeering or that federal prosecutors intended to bring RICO charges.
The confirmed investigative activity extends beyond the searches themselves.
Federal agents seized Omar’s personal cellphone and other materials from her Washington residence on Oct. 12. More than a dozen grand jury subpoenas have also reportedly been issued, including subpoenas involving members of her family.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Justice Department.
According to Reuters’ reporting on the investigation, authorities are reviewing possible false statements and conspiracy offenses involving immigration records associated with Omar and her family.
Omar entered the United States as a Somali refugee in 1995 and became a naturalized American citizen in 2000. Some of the documents under examination reportedly were submitted by her late father while she was a child.
The government is examining whether information contained in those records was accurate, although the complete allegations and supporting evidence have not been publicly disclosed.
The investigation has also prompted a legal confrontation over the search of a sitting member of Congress.
On Friday, Omar’s attorneys sent federal prosecutors a letter demanding the return of property seized during the operation and challenging the government’s handling of potentially protected congressional materials.
According to CBS News’ October 17 report, attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz accused investigators of violating procedures intended to protect the constitutional rights of lawmakers during searches.
“This vindictive, retributive, and politically motivated criminal investigation into one of the President’s chief congressional critics violates Representative Omar’s constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers,” the attorneys wrote.
The Justice Department rejected those accusations, maintaining that investigators complied with applicable court orders and legal obligations.
The dispute concerns protections associated with the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which safeguards certain legislative activities from executive branch interference.
Omar’s lawyers have demanded the preservation of recordings and other records documenting the search, arguing that investigators improperly handled privileged materials.
The congresswoman has also publicly denounced the investigation as politically motivated.
Her representatives maintain that allegations concerning her immigration history have been repeatedly examined without producing evidence sufficient to support criminal charges.
A separate Washington Post report found that officials during Trump’s first administration reviewed Omar’s immigration history in 2019 but did not identify evidence establishing citizenship fraud.
The current investigation has therefore raised questions about what new evidence, if any, prompted federal authorities to renew their examination of records dating back more than two decades.
Mullin has maintained that investigators are proceeding on the basis of evidence rather than political considerations. Omar and her attorneys dispute that characterization, pointing to the timing of the searches and Trump’s longstanding criticism of the congresswoman.
Omar is seeking reelection in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District on November 3, placing the investigation within weeks of a federal election.
The Justice Department traditionally exercises particular caution concerning overt investigative actions that could affect electoral contests, although those practices do not categorically prohibit warranted searches during election periods.
The latest DNA allegations introduce another element to an investigation whose precise scope remains undisclosed.
If investigators obtained biological material, it could potentially be used to examine biological relationships relevant to claims made in immigration documents. However, NewsNation’s reporting has not established that such testing occurred or what conclusions, if any, it produced.
The same uncertainty applies to suggestions that the investigation could lead to additional charges or indictments involving family members.
As of October 17, federal authorities have confirmed multiple warrants and an active investigation, but prosecutors have not announced charges against Omar.
The reported DNA collection and predictions of sweeping indictments remain unverified claims attributed to sources familiar with the inquiry.
The case now involves competing accounts of the government’s motives and the investigation’s legal basis, while additional evidence is reportedly being collected for possible grand jury consideration.
Whether that process results in criminal charges will depend on prosecutors’ assessment of the evidence and the grand jury’s findings, not on public predictions about the investigation’s eventual outcome.
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