Former US President Barack Obama has accused President Donald Trump of targeting Ilhan Omar, a democratic congresswoman, because of her political views.
In an X post on Sunday, Obama said the investigation into
Omar, who represents Minnesota in the US house of representatives, violated a
fundamental principle of American democracy.
“To understand why this is so appalling, it’s important to
know the facts,” Obama said.
“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.”
The former president said Omar arrived in the US with her
father when she was 12 and became a naturalised citizen after her father
obtained US citizenship when she was 17.
Obama said the Trump administration was seeking to deport
Omar based on an unsubstantiated allegation that she was 18 when her father
became a citizen and should, therefore, have applied for citizenship
separately.
He also criticised federal agents for searching her home and
seizing her phone and personal records, saying the action amounted to the use
of federal power against an elected official for criticising the president.
Omar, a Somali-born American politician, has been one of
Trump’s fiercest critics and has repeatedly faced attacks from the president
over her background and political positions.
On October 12, federal agents searched Omar’s Washington,
DC, home as part of a criminal investigation into possible fraud involving her
immigration and naturalisation records.
Authorities also seized her phone and passport and issued
subpoenas to some of her relatives.
The investigation centres on allegations that Omar or
members of her family provided false information during their immigration
process decades ago. Omar has rejected the allegations and described the search
as politically motivated.
Obama said the investigation was part of a broader pattern
of the Trump administration using federal agencies to pursue people it
considers political opponents.
He cited previous actions against the New York
attorney-general and a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director,
saying similar cases had stalled or been dismissed for lacking a legal basis.
The former president warned that targeting political
opponents could establish a “dangerous precedent” that future administrations
might also exploit.
He said Americans should be concerned regardless of their
views on Omar’s politics, arguing that the investigation case could distract
the congresswoman from her legislative duties and force her to incur legal
costs over allegations he considers baseless.
Obama said the use of government power to intimidate
political critics should concern Americans across party lines.
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