Judge at odds with Trump will decide whether to unseal warrant that authorized search of Ilhan Omar's home

The search warrant that allowed federal agents to enter the home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar could be made public, and the decision was left in the hands of a judge with a long history of clashes with President Donald Trump.

James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia appointed by former President Barack Obama, will have to decide whether the document remains sealed or is made public.

According to Fox News, the case reached his office following three separate requests to declassify the order. One was filed by The New York Times, another by the conservative organization Judicial Watch, and the third by a group of 14 media outlets. The fact that the requests came from such diverse sectors highlights the interest generated by an unprecedented operation against a sitting lawmaker — especially in the midst of an election campaign and amid various reports about her immigration status and the possibility that she might lose her U.S. citizenship.

Despite public interest, the Department of Justice opposes this. Washington federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro argued that the warrant has not yet been fully executed and that disclosing its contents could compromise the investigation. "This request seems rushed because it is rushed," she said, and asked the court to deny the request until the search is completed and a decision on possible charges is announced. Boasberg had set Oct. 22 as the deadline for the government to defend its position, but extended it at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The media, on the other hand, argue that the search took place weeks ago and that, if there is sensitive information, it is sufficient to redact it rather than withhold the entire document.

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The judge and the president have a long history of clashes. In March 2025, Boasberg temporarily halted deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members, a move that greatly annoyed the president, who described the judge as "a lunatic judge from the radical left, a troublemaker and agitator."

The feud between the two was so intense that Trump even called for his impeachment and claimed that it was practically impossible for him to obtain a fair ruling in the capital. Since then, the judge has once again come under fire from the ruling party for other decisions, such as the order to preserve Signal messages in which high-ranking officials discussed the attacks in Yemen. His critics also point to the probation sentence he imposed on former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to altering an email as part of the effort to monitor Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.

The Oct. 12 raid is part of two federal investigations against Omar. One, led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, is examining discrepancies in her financial disclosures. The other, in Minnesota, seeks to determine whether her father falsified her age on her citizenship application in 2000, which would have allowed her to become a naturalized citizen as a minor. Omar arrived in the United States from Somalia in 1995 at the age of 12.

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The lawmaker, for her part, is waging her own battle with the Department of Justice. Her attorneys demanded the return of all seized items and argue that the agents violated the protections afforded to her legislative work, failed to provide her with a copy of the warrant and prevented her from communicating with her defense attorneys during the search.

Omar has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing. The raid took place just a few weeks before the midterm elections, at a time when alleged fraud in Minnesota's social welfare programs had become one of the state's major political issues.