Former President Barack Obama has accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the federal government against its political opponents. His remarks came in a social media post supporting Rep. Ilhan Omar amid an investigation into her citizenship.
Obama claims that the administration is attempting to strip Omar of her U.S. citizenship and deport her due to her criticism of President Donald Trump. He warned that this could set a dangerous precedent for American democracy.
“It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say,” Obama wrote Sunday on X. “But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.”
Federal agents recently searched Omar’s home in Washington, D.C. as part of a criminal investigation into her immigration status. Sources familiar with the investigation have indicated that authorities are examining whether Omar or her father committed fraud on immigration paperwork when she became a U.S. citizen years ago.
Obama defended Omar’s citizenship status, explaining that she arrived in the United States with her father at age 12 and automatically became a citizen at 17 when her father was naturalized. He dismissed the investigation’s theory that Omar might have been 18, which would have required a separate citizenship application.
The former president further accused the administration of using the federal government to target perceived political opponents, citing actions against New York’s attorney general, a former FBI director, and members of the Federal Reserve.
“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,” Obama wrote. “The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views.”
President Trump has denied involvement in the investigation, stating that the matter is up to the Justice Department. He commented, “I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me.”
Obama emphasized that if these actions become normalized, future administrations regardless of political affiliation might continue similar practices.