Fifteen prominent news organizations asked a federal court Thursday to unseal search warrant documents and supporting affidavits federal agents used during a raid on the Washington, DC home of US Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this week.
News organizations told the court that Americans possess a fundamental constitutional entitlement to review why law enforcement entered an elected official's private residence, asserting that investigative materials become presumptively public after being executed and formally returned.
Fourteen media organizations, including Reuters, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, and CNN, filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The New York Times is pursuing a separate legal challenge seeking disclosure.
The motions seek public disclosure of judicial records, including the search warrant and all attachments; the underlying warrant application; probable cause affidavits submitted by federal investigators; motions to seal; court sealing orders; the property inventory return from the Oct. 12 operation; and any related docket entries. The New York Times also requested any transcripts of court proceedings regarding the warrant.
The outlets argued that prior public acknowledgments by administration officials substantially undermine the government's justification for secrecy.
Organizations contended that targeted redactions can address legitimate operational sensitivities or individual privacy protections rather than blanket withholding of judicial records.
Citing the "experience and logic" legal doctrine, the group stressed that open access curbs potential investigative abuse, ensures judicial fairness and maintains confidence in legal procedures during a high-profile inquiry conducted weeks before an election.
The US will hold midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Federal agents executed a court-approved search warrant at Omar's residence at 6 am local time (1000GMT) Monday. The Justice Department confirmed that Homeland Security Investigations carried out the judicially authorized warrant as part of an active federal inquiry into immigration documents completed during her childhood, according to Fox News.
Omar criticized the search, describing the operation as an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate political opponents.
Tensions have escalated between Omar and US President Donald Trump about regional law enforcement, including an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative in her home state of Minnesota. Trump has repeatedly linked the measures to fraud accusations involving the state's Somali community while targeting Omar's background and citizenship. Omar was born in Somalia.
Omar's family came to the US in 1995, when she was a teen, after securing asylum.
