Omar's lawyers demand return of phone and passport seized in federal search of her home

Lawyers for Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., are demanding that federal prosecutors return property seized from her Washington home, escalating a fight over an investigation unfolding three weeks before the midterm elections.

The search

Federal agents searched Omar's home in Northeast Washington on Monday, Oct. 12, and seized her phone and passport, Al Jazeera reported. The Associated Press, citing a person briefed on the probe, reported that more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas have gone out from a grand jury in Minnesota, including to some of Omar's relatives.

Investigators are reportedly examining possible fraud in immigration paperwork, the AP reported. The full scope of the inquiry is unclear. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, told Fox News there are several investigations and that her office is also looking at Omar's financial disclosures, according to the AP.

The dispute

In a letter dated Friday, Omar's attorneys, Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz, asked for the property back and for audio and video of the search to be preserved, Al Jazeera reported. They argued the search was politically motivated and did not follow a magistrate judge's instructions, including advance notice meant to protect a sitting member of Congress.

A Justice Department spokesperson, Emily Covington, said the letter was "riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies" and that officials complied with all court orders.

Omar called the search an attempt "to target political enemies," the AP reported. Trump, who attacked Omar at a Tennessee rally days earlier, said afterward the matter was up to the Justice Department.

Omar became a naturalized citizen in 2000, according to her House biography. The Justice Department has traditionally avoided overt investigative steps involving candidates close to an election, the AP noted.