Obama calls Trump’s investigation into Ilhan Omar ‘appalling’

[0:00] Former President Obama is speaking up and slamming the Trump administration's investigation [0:05] into Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, calling the move appalling. Here's what President Obama actually [0:11] said. Quote, the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding [0:16] elected official because she has dared to criticize the president, and it's not the first time this [0:21] has happened. It was a week ago that federal officers were seen searching the home of Ilhan [0:27] Omar. Sources have told CNN that the search is related to an immigration fraud investigation, [0:32] and now President Trump's border czar says that Congresswoman Omar may even be stripped [0:39] of her citizenship. CNN's Caitlin Polance is in Washington watching this one. Caitlin, [0:44] what's the latest that you're learning about this investigation? Well, Kate, it's been a [0:49] week since that search of Representative Ilhan Omar's home in Washington, D.C., authorized [0:55] by a judge. But the legal fight and the political fight are just beginning. There is much more [1:00] to come here. We are already hearing from former President Barack Obama rushing to Representative [1:06] Omar's defense and engaging with the allegation that we now know through CNN and other outlets [1:13] reporting what the Trump administration is investigating. What they are investigating is the possibility [1:19] of immigration fraud several years ago, specifically at the time when Representative Omar became a citizen [1:24] of this country in 2000, whether she was 17, as she says she was at that time after having been a [1:32] child refugee from Somalia, or was she 18 years old at the time she became a citizen. Barack Obama, [1:39] he says that the administration now is trying to uncover a non-existing smoking gun from 20 years ago [1:47] to make this case. He also writes that the fact that any president or any administration is willing to engage in [1:53] such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless about how they [2:00] feel about Congresswoman Omar's political views. Because if this is the new normal, there's no reason [2:05] to believe it will stop with her or that future presidents in either party won't do the same. Now, [2:11] on the administration side, the Justice Department has said not a whole lot so far about this [2:16] investigation. There has not been any criminal charges filed yet, but the White House border czar [2:22] Tom Homan, he was speaking on Fox News about this particular investigation and where it could lead. [2:29] Here is his statements from this weekend. I've been told to have a strong case and we'll let the evidence [2:36] lead where it leads, but she'll be held to the same standards you and I are held. Would this involve [2:41] denaturalizing and then deporting her if it turns out that there is some kind of immigration fraud? [2:48] Of course, if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize [2:52] somebody. We've done it before. It's a long, tedious process, but it's been done before. I've been [2:57] involved with those investigations before and certainly if the evidence points that way, that could happen. [3:06] That's right, where Tom Homan is saying that it could be a long, tedious process. Denaturalization would [3:10] be something far down the road. Right now though, the question is about whether the Justice Department [3:15] will get access to Representative Omar's records seized in her house. There's a fight in court [3:20] already brewing and we as the media are trying to learn more at this time, even asking a judge [3:25] to reveal more information that is under seal. Obama coming off the sidelines in this area is [3:30] interesting given all the questions about literally his birth certificate brought up by Trump himself. [3:35] So he is intimate knowledge about what it's like to have Trump questioning your citizenship. [3:41] Yep, it's a very powerful surrogate for Ilhan Omar and by default also for Abd al-Sayed in Michigan [3:48] because he is going to get the halo effect of that commentary. I think this comes down to, [3:54] can you figure out as a politician when asked about these things, a solid answer that's going to [3:59] allow you to speak on your own behalf and so that you don't always have to rely on President Obama [4:05] because you're not going to get that halo effect at all times. I do think in terms of what Kurt was [4:10] saying, like whether or not it's worth bringing up, any politician is going to lob any attack at you [4:16] at any time. It is your job to figure out what's the smartest and best defense. I thought that that [4:20] comment from al-Sayed on the president's son-in-law was pretty quippy and pretty sharp. Whether or not [4:26] Omar can continue to figure out how to handle these herself without having the former president [4:31] having to step in for her is going to be another test. Right now she is dealing with an investigation [4:36] into her immigration records, questioning whether or not the age on her citizenship application [4:42] actually differs from her birth date. People are looking at her financial disclosures, [4:46] they're looking at her marital history. Mark Wayne Mullen of the Department of Homeland Security [4:51] was on the Charlie Kirk show. Here's what he had to say. We had a judge sign it and we expected [4:57] to be able to take the case to a grand jury. But I will tell you, we wouldn't move forward [5:02] and President Trump didn't want to move forward either unless we knew that it couldn't be politically [5:06] driven. Now they want to try making it politically driven. This individual wants to try making it [5:10] about themselves. This was about enforcing once again our nation's laws and it's a strong case. [5:20] The only thing I think I would ask is they have not said if she actually broke a law. They've just said [5:26] she's looking to see if she broke a law. So right now it's like they've never said this is the law [5:31] she broke. There's no indictment, right? There are no charges. This probe was started under the Biden [5:35] DOJ. Yeah, we should say in 2019 Trump officials investigated her and came away with nothing. [5:40] And now and then it was revived under Biden and now Mark Wayne Mullen. Everybody's had a look at [5:46] this point. Everyone's which is why I'd like to wait to see the facts when the FBI and HSI go dumpster [5:52] diving looking for DNA. That's something where you don't actually need a warrant, right? Because [5:56] once it's in the dumpster, you do not need a warrant. Wait, I'm sorry. Tiana, are you advocating for this? [6:00] Are you suggesting a dumpster dive? I want to wait until we see what it is, right? All right. [6:05] You better tear up your trash, okay? Get a shredder. This is just Fourth Amendment, you know, [6:11] precedent. But look, with Ilhan Omar, there are facts that, look, I went to Minneapolis in 2019 [6:17] reporting on the allegations of was her second slash first husband, you know, was he her biological [6:23] brother, whatever. I didn't find anything about the brother. What I did find was that the marriage [6:27] was clearly not real, right? She was always living with her, with the father of her children. [6:34] Is the point, though, just to say it out loud, meaning even now just being like, [6:38] might have been married to her brother. Like, it's not a thing. [6:40] It's that if you, if you marry your biological brother, because you are a citizen, but you're [6:45] saying it out loud as though it's part of a reality. I believe it's part of the probe. I mean, [6:50] it seems more, it seems more accurate that it's, it's right. They won't tell us that. Yeah. Let's [6:56] wait and see. Right. But the fact that, you know, there has been a history of dishonesty, obfuscation, [7:03] and now with her current husband, her third or fourth. But what we are saying officially is you don't [7:08] have to commit a crime for it to trigger an immigration investigation, which is the opposite [7:14] of we are going to get criminals out of the country. It is the act of being an immigrant [7:20] is a potential violation, and we should occasionally look into it. And what a dicey communication [7:24] situation that puts you in. This is what I was trying to say, because anytime you try to defend [7:28] yourself from something like this, you're bringing it up into the public even more. Even the fact that [7:32] President Obama is coming in draws attention to this issue when, if you don't believe that you have [7:37] anything to be investigated over, you're now having to defend yourself for something that [7:41] you don't want to be talking about. So they, even if the investigation itself, you know, [7:45] doesn't land anywhere, just by making it an investigation, putting it out there in the public, [7:49] forcing her to defend herself. The point is to deny it. The point is it puts her on the defense. [7:54] Yeah. It puts her on the defense from a narrative perspective. And that's kind of the point. [7:57] I just hope Republicans are comfortable with that type of precedent when Democrats set back [8:01] control of Congress, start launching all kinds of investigations. Oh, [8:03] because that's never been done before. I was there at the Oversight Committee [8:09] for Republicans when we started that playbook with Hillary Clinton and Benghazi. So, [8:12] hey, turn about spare play. I forgot you worked for Republicans. [8:15] That's right. Oh my God. The original Oversight [8:20] beast. Fast and Furious, IRS targeting of Republican groups. Like, hey, we started that playbook.