A federal judge who has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump and his allies is now presiding over the fight to unseal the warrant used to search the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

The warrant dispute comes amid two separate federal investigations involving the Democratic congresswoman. The investigations stem from concerns about discrepancies in financial disclosures filed one year apart and allegations that Omar’s father committed fraud while completing immigration paperwork.

Omar immigrated to the United States from Somalia in 1995, when she was 12 years old. Investigators are examining whether her father misstated her age on citizenship paperwork in 2000, potentially allowing her to obtain citizenship through him while she was a minor.

Trump, a longtime political foe of Omar, has repeatedly attacked the progressive congresswoman. He has also accused her of immigration fraud by allegedly marrying her brother, referring to her first husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.

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In the weeks after the Oct. 12 raid on Omar’s Washington home, Trump called for her to be “put in jail.” The raid occurred just weeks before the midterm elections as alleged fraud involving Minnesota’s social services programs became a major political issue in the state.

The warrant fight is being handled by Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has long been a target of criticism from Trump and his allies.

Judge James Boasberg — the same federal judge Trump called a "Radical Left Lunatic" after he blocked Venezuelan deportation flights — has been assigned to oversee the fight to unseal the FBI search warrant used in the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home.

The case lands on Boasberg's desk as two separate federal investigations into Omar are underway: one examining alleged discrepancies in her financial disclosures and another probing whether her father misstated her age on citizenship paperwork in 2000, potentially allowing her to obtain citizenship as a minor. Trump has long accused Omar of committing immigration fraud, including allegedly marrying her brother, and called for her to be "put in jail" in the weeks following the raid on her D.C. home. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro fired back at media requests to unseal the warrant, calling them "rash" and arguing the investigation is still ongoing with no charges filed. Omar's attorneys, meanwhile, are demanding the return of seized property, alleging agents violated protections for her congressional work and blocked her from contacting lawyers during the search. Full story here https://t.co/onSb2ln0NB — Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) October 28, 2026

In March 2025, Boasberg temporarily blocked deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members. Trump responded by calling him a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator” and demanding his impeachment.

Trump also accused Boasberg of bias in the nation’s capital. He said it was “virtually impossible for me to get an Honest Ruling in D.C.”

Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI conducted the search under a warrant issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh. Days later, three separate requests were filed seeking to unseal the warrant.

The New York Times, conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, and 14 press organizations submitted those requests. Boasberg ordered the Justice Department to defend its position on keeping the warrant sealed in response to a consolidated request from the Times and the press organizations.

Boasberg initially directed the Justice Department to respond by Oct. 22. He later extended the deadline after the department requested that the court wait until the search warrant had been “fully executed.”

The Justice Department argued that releasing the information could compromise the integrity of the investigation. The filing indicated that officials were still executing the warrant, while other details about the investigation and warrant records remained redacted from public view.

“This request sounds rash because it is rash,” Pirro wrote. “The Court should reject it without prejudice for renewal after the search warrant has been fully executed and a charging decision is made public.”

The Times and the other media organizations countered that the physical search had taken place weeks earlier. They argued that sensitive information within the warrant should be redacted instead of allowing the government to withhold the entire document.

Omar is simultaneously pursuing a separate dispute with the Justice Department over property seized from her home. Her attorneys have demanded its return, arguing that federal agents violated protections covering her congressional work.

Her attorneys also alleged that agents failed to give Omar a copy of the search warrant and prevented her from contacting her lawyers during the search. Those claims add another front to an already tangled legal battle involving the congresswoman and federal investigators.

Boasberg’s role follows several decisions that previously drew criticism from Trump and his allies. In June 2025, he ordered federal agencies to preserve Signal messages exchanged by senior officials discussing U.S. military strikes in Yemen, saying the communications could constitute federal records.

During the Biden administration’s Arctic Frost investigation, Boasberg signed nondisclosure orders that barred phone carriers from telling Republican lawmakers that prosecutors had subpoenaed their records. He also faced criticism over his sentencing of former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith.

Clinesmith pleaded guilty to altering an email used in an application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to renew surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser suspected of acting as a Russian agent.

Boasberg, who previously served a seven-year term on the FISA Court, said the altered email undermined the court’s integrity. However, he characterized the conduct as a misguided mistake that provided Clinesmith with no personal benefit.

Boasberg sentenced Clinesmith to 12 months of probation and 400 hours of community service. He said Clinesmith’s place at the center of a years-long media “hurricane” had already provided sufficient punishment.

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