Ilhan Omar's relatives subpoenaed as part of immigration probe

Key points

• Multiple relatives of Rep. Ilhan Omar received grand jury subpoenas on Friday in an immigration fraud investigation.
• Omar's Washington, D.C. home was searched early Monday by ICE investigators.
• The Justice Department's overt steps near the midterm elections have drawn criticism for possibly violating internal guidelines.

Multiple relatives of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into possible fraud and false statements in her family's immigration paperwork, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. The subpoenas were issued on Friday, just days before investigators from ICE's investigative unit searched Omar's home in Washington, D.C., early Monday. The New York Times first reported the subpoenas.

The Justice Department's decision to take such overt investigative steps so close to the midterm elections has sparked criticism. It appears to conflict with the department's own internal guidelines, which state that federal prosecutors and agents may never select the timing of any action to affect an election or to give an advantage or disadvantage to a candidate or political party. Customarily, the department follows an unwritten 60-day rule, cited in a 2016 inspector general report, that prosecutors avoid public disclosure of investigative steps related to electoral matters or indictments against a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election.

Omar denies wrongdoing

Omar, a frequent critic of President Trump and a frequent target of him and his allies, has denied any wrongdoing. She accused the Trump administration of attempting to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. Mr. Trump said Monday that he had nothing to do with the raid.

Sources said Attorney General Todd Blanche was aware of the search. The Public Integrity Section, which handles politically sensitive criminal investigations, was consulted, but it was largely gutted by the Trump administration last year, leaving only two attorneys. It was not immediately clear what guidance the section provided before the search, or why the government moved so close to the election, since some documents date back to Omar's childhood and were completed by her late father.

target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement

— Ilhan Omar

Warrant and legal concerns

The warrant to search Omar's home was approved by a magistrate judge in Washington only after extended discussions with Justice Department attorneys about concerns stemming from the 2007 United States v. Rayburn House Office Building case. That case held that in a criminal investigation of a sitting member of Congress, the executive branch cannot review seized information without allowing the member to first screen it for legislative privilege under the Constitution's Speech and Debate clause.

Initially, the warrant did not account for the Rayburn case because investigators searched the congresswoman's home and not her congressional office. The magistrate judge ordered them to include protocols allowing Omar and her counsel to review materials and assert legislative privilege. CBS News has not determined who Omar's lawyer is in this case. Homeland Security Investigations is leading the investigation, with the Department of Justice assisting.

This is at least the second active criminal investigation involving Omar and her family. Two sources previously told CBS News that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., is also conducting a criminal investigation into the valuation of several businesses owned by her husband, Tim Mynett. D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro confirmed that investigation during a Fox News interview this week. The businesses came under scrutiny after financial disclosures showed their value had jumped to between $6 million and $30 million. Omar later blamed the valuation on an accounting error and filed an amended form listing the couple's joint assets as valued between $18,004 and $95,000.