Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) issued a pointed warning on Monday about the use of federal power against political opponents. He said “everyone should be deeply suspicious” of the Justice Department’s actions toward any sitting member of Congress. The post on X came hours after federal agents carried out a predawn raid on the Washington, DC, home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics.
Booker published the message at 3:42 PM on October 12, 2026. It read in full:
“No president should be able to weaponize the federal government against political enemies and we cannot grow numb to this. Donald Trump has a clear record of doing exactly this.
We are days before the election, and everyone should be deeply suspicious of President Trump’s justice department and their actions against any sitting member of congress.
Moreover, Trump himself continues to prove how detached he is from the most pressing concerns Americans are facing, and why his agenda of cruelty, chaos and corruption must be checked.”
The post did not name Omar. Its reference to “any sitting member of congress” and its timing, on the day of the search, placed it squarely in the context of the raid. It also framed the episode as part of a broader pattern rather than a single event, with the phrase “a clear record of doing exactly this.”
The Raid on Omar’s Home
According to Reuters, U.S. authorities searched Omar’s Washington home before dawn Monday as part of an ongoing investigation, the Justice Department said. A person familiar with the probe told Reuters it relates to alleged immigration fraud. Part of the inquiry concerns immigration paperwork that Omar’s late father filled out when she was a child. Omar, 44, was born in Somalia.
In announcing the operation, a Justice Department spokesperson said: “Today in the Washington, DC area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation.” Homeland Security Investigations is a component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Omar responded on social media, saying the government is being weaponized against a political enemy of the president. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns,” she said. “This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.”
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said the Justice Department is leading the investigation with the Department of Homeland Security, but declined to address its specifics. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said last month that “something’s gonna happen” in the inquiry into Omar’s family’s entry into the United States. “If we can prove that you shouldn’t have been here in the first place, we’ll deport you,” Mullin said at the time.
Democratic Leaders Condemn the Search
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, joined by Reps. Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, called the raid “deeply disturbing” and said it “raises serious questions” about the weaponization of the federal government against Trump’s enemies. They said Republicans have “relentlessly targeted” Omar and that Trump’s “mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.” The leaders vowed to “deliver full accountability” for what they called a “rogue abuse of power.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also weighed in. “Americans see this for what it is,” he wrote on social media. “President Trump is abusing his power to go after political opponents weeks before an election.” Few Republicans commented publicly. Rep. Nancy Mace wrote online: “If the fraud is proven, she should be denaturalized and removed from this country. NO ONE is above the law.”
The Election Calendar and Justice Department Policy
The timing of the raid drew scrutiny because of long-standing Justice Department norms. Department policy bars prosecutors and agents from timing actions to affect an election’s outcome or to benefit a candidate or party. The department has historically avoided investigative steps against political candidates within roughly 60 days of an election. The midterms are set for November 3, a little more than three weeks away. Omar is seeking a fifth term in a safe Democratic district she won by 50 percentage points in 2024.
Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor and former public corruption prosecutor, said the raid appears to break with past practice. He noted that the policy cannot be enforced. “The idea is to avoid even the appearance of any kind of interference by the Department of Justice with the political process,” Eliason said. “It’s not surprising that they wouldn’t really care about violating this policy because they’ve shown they don’t really care about politicizing the Justice Department in many other ways.”
A person familiar with the investigation said the department consulted its Public Integrity Section and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter before the search. The Public Integrity Section, which historically advised on investigations of members of Congress, has been reduced to about two lawyers under the Trump administration, with much of its authority curtailed.
What Is at Stake in November
The raid arrived as control of Congress is in play. On the prediction market Polymarket, the odds of Democrats winning the House stood at 91 percent at the time of this writing. Booker’s phrase “days before the election” reflects how close the contest is, and how any federal action against a sitting lawmaker can become a campaign issue.
Booker’s Record on Justice Department Independence
Booker’s Monday post is consistent with earlier public statements. After Trump posted on Truth Social directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political opponents, Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement on his official Senate website. “President Trump said the quiet part out loud: he wants his political opponents prosecuted and imprisoned by any means necessary,” Booker said. He added that “Trump views the Department of Justice as his personal law firm.”
In the same statement, Booker said: “Our constitutional system depends on the Department of Justice’s ability to pursue justice, without fear or favor.” He concluded: “This country cannot function with a system of justice for Trump, and one for the rest of us. My Republican colleagues can no longer bury their heads in the sand and ignore the truth.”
Booker raised similar concerns after Bondi testified before the Judiciary Committee following the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. He said lawmakers had “real questions about using the Department of Justice as an arm of the president, as his personal attorneys, to prosecute his personal political vendettas.” He said the department was being steered away from crimes that should be solved and toward political targets such as Comey.
A Pattern of Cases Against Trump’s Critics
The “clear record” Booker referenced includes a series of cases during Trump’s second term. The Justice Department has charged Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former national security adviser John Bolton. It has also investigated Democratic lawmakers who urged the military not to follow illegal orders, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve officials Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook.
The outcomes have been mixed. A federal judge threw out the case against James and one of two cases against Comey. Bolton pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced this month. Grand juries and federal judges have stymied several other probes. Trump has long argued that the Justice Department was itself “weaponized” against him before he returned to office, a claim he repeated in a speech at the department’s headquarters.
Trump and Omar
Omar has been a frequent target of Trump’s rhetoric. He has cast the Somali American community as a threat to Minnesota and previously called Somalis “garbage,” drawing criticism from civil rights advocates. In February, Trump said Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) should be “institutionalized” and sent back to “where they came from.” Omar has called Trump’s focus on her an “unhealthy and creepy obsession.” She has said she and her family have faced death threats, which she attributes to “hateful political rhetoric.” Last month, a Minnesota man who squirted vinegar on Omar was sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal official.
Booker’s Closing Argument
Booker’s final sentence turned from the raid to the broader political fight. He said Trump “continues to prove how detached he is from the most pressing concerns Americans are facing,” and that his “agenda of cruelty, chaos and corruption must be checked.” With the midterms less than four weeks away, that is the argument Democrats are carrying to voters. They contend that Congress is the remaining institutional check on how the federal government’s law-enforcement powers are used.