4 takeaways from the pre-election raid on Omar’s home

▪ Iran likely responsible for air base incident

Federal agents searched the Washington-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) before dawn Monday in a major escalation of the Trump administration’s probe of a political adversary just three weeks before the midterm elections.

The search was carried out by agents with Homeland Security Investigations, an elite criminal unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and provoked fierce backlash from Democrats. The incident also raised questions among some legal experts about the long-standing practice at the Department of Justice (DOJ) of avoiding politically sensitive actions within 60 days of an election.

Here are some takeaways from the raid and its fallout.

Investigation centers on Omar’s immigration history

The court-approved search of the congresswoman’s home comes after Department of Homeland Security officials said in recent months that they were investigating Omar over her family’s immigration paperwork, which was filed by her late father when she was a child.

Omar, a member of the “squad” of progressive House members on Capitol Hill, was born in Somalia and fled the civil war there when she was 8 years old. She spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before arriving to the U.S. in 1995 and becoming a U.S. citizen five years later at 17 years old.

“We feel … there may be more to this — the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told conservative pundit Benny Johnson last month. “There’s no expiration to that. If we can prove it — that you shouldn’t have been here in the first place — we’ll deport you.”

The search warrant listed a number of potential crimes under investigation, including false statements and fraud in immigration paperwork, and a general conspiracy charge, The New York Times reported, citing a person familiar with the document.

Timing breaks with long-standing DOJ norms

The search took place just 22 days before the Nov. 3 midterms. Mary McCord, a former senior DOJ official, told Morning Report that the move is a departure from “long-standing internal guidance” that prohibits prosecutors from taking actions that could even be perceived to have the purpose of “affecting an election or giving an advantage or disadvantage to a candidate or party.”

“Although special circumstances could provide an exception to that general rule, I see no indication based on the current reporting that would warrant an exception,” McCord said.

Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade said there is much unknown about the case, but what is known is that a magistrate judge found probable cause to believe evidence of a crime would be found at Omar’s home, the legal standard for obtaining a search warrant.

Thomas Hogan, an assistant law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, said when he was a federal prosecutor, argued the 60-day norm has eroded over time, pointing specifically to the FBI’s handling of investigations during the 2016 election involving Hillary Clinton and President Trump, as well as in the years since.

“These norms went out the door with the Trump/Clinton election,” he said. “Leaks about the Steele dossier and Trump and then James Comey’s remarks about Clinton’s emails were central to the election.”

The president has repeatedly targeted Omar since she was elected to Congress in 2018, specifically attacking her Somali background and questioning her patriotism.

He did so again Monday, calling the congresswoman “totally crooked” in his first remarks on the raid.

“Well, I understand they’re looking at her very carefully,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Ohio. “I’ve always found her to be totally crooked personally, but that has nothing to do with me.”

“I think she’s a terrible person, but that’s really up to the DOJ,” he continued. “I have nothing to do with it.”

Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, has also been a frequent target on the right for her progressivism and outspoken criticism of Israel.

Following Monday’s search, Omar issued a defiant statement, accusing the president of “political intimidation” and saying she “will not be silenced.”

“Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” Omar wrote in a post on the social platform X. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.”

Democrats were outraged Monday after news of the raid broke, accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the government to go after political adversaries.

They are vowing to investigate the Omar raid and other similar cases should they win back control of the lower chamber in November, as they are expected to do.

“The American people deserve transparency, and we will deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice,” the top three Democrats in the House — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) — said in a joint statement Monday.

▪ CBS News: Supporters of Omar hold rally in Minneapolis

▪ The Hill: The Memo: Trump critics allege abuse of power

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media after a German-Ukrainian business forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 4, 2026. (Dan Bashakov, Associated Press)

DIESEL DISSENT: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, backed by his country’s European allies, is pushing back hard on Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, denouncing the U.S. president as “weak” for making the agreement.

Zelensky rejected Trump’s repeated insistence that the Russia-Ukraine war is to blame for the high cost of diesel fuel, telling Fox News’s Bill Hemmer on Monday that the Iran war is the cause.

“Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Tensions over Trump’s deal have upset what’s been a decently stable relationship between the two leaders in recent months. Zelensky’s comments prompted Trump to repeat his call for Ukraine to hold elections.

Zelensky, who has long argued it’s impossible to hold an election amid Russian attacks, called for a 60-day full ceasefire to allow the country to hold elections. The Kremlin said it would stop for a day.

The Trump administration is also reportedly threatening to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons sales to Europe for Ukraine if Kyiv doesn’t stop its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.

Zelensky said Russia continued to hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Monday in violation of the energy ceasefire that Trump claimed over the weekend the two sides had agreed to.

Trump’s diesel deal has been met with similar pushback at home, with lawmakers from both parties saying it would help Russia as it continues its aggression against Ukraine and that it may be illegal under U.S. law.

▪ The Hill: Trump picks fight with GOP over Russia diesel deal.

▪ The Hill: Oil analyst skeptical diesel deal will lower prices.

FEDERAL REPRIMAND: A federal judge tore into the DOJ on Monday for the administration’s failure to provide sufficient notice before cutting down hundreds of trees in East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.

The park is home to three golf courses, including an 18-hole public facility that offers affordable rates and serves tens of thousands of players each week. Trump has been pushing to convert the property, which is operated by a local nonprofit called the National Links Trust, into a championship-caliber course that can host professional tournaments.

The DC Preservation League and two individuals have brought a lawsuit trying to prevent the overhaul of the public golf courses.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued an order Monday blocking the National Park Service from conducting any further work on the site until at least 2 p.m. Tuesday as she considers whether to issue a longer block.

“I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” Reyes said, yelling at the lawyers representing the DOJ, The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld reports.

She said the government has lost “all of its credibility” in the case.

▪ The Hill: Trump pushing to turn Florida golf course into presidential retreat.

ALL IN: Big Tech leader Elon Musk has given $276 million to Republican PACs and other organizations over the past three months, providing a major cash infusion as Election Day is fast approaching.

A spokesperson for Musk’s America PAC confirmed the amounts, which were first reported by The New York Times, to The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero.

Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for the Senate GOP, and $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for House Republicans.

Musk had previously suggested he might take a step back compared to his involvement in the 2024 race. The Times reported that Musk’s donations make him the largest known donor of the 2026 cycle.

The news comes as Musk and Trump have apparently moved on from a public feud, with the president awarding the billionaire the National Medal of Science last week.

▪ The Associated Press: ‘Musk’ documentary goes nationwide this week.

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle speak during a dedication ceremony at the chancery of the U.S. Embassy, Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece. (Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press pool)

TROUBLE IN TRUMP WORLD: A pair of scandals concerning administration figures close to Trump are taking center stage as Democrats seek to tie Republicans broadly to an unpopular president in the midterms.

Trump confirmed Monday he’s considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle following The Wall Street Journal report that she asked a GOP donor to pay off her $100,000 credit card bill via wire transfer to avoid a paper trail as she was seeking Senate confirmation.

“Well, we’re looking at it. Yeah, we’re not happy,” Trump said, in response to a question from The Hill’s Julia Manchester.

The Associated Press previously reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were both frustrated with Guilfoyle and considering her ouster. The Journal has also reported new allegations that wealthy Greek businessmen helped fund Guilfoyle’s luxury travel.

Meanwhile, Trump’s longtime campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair have found themselves in controversy over work they did for a pro-Russian party in Republika Srpska, an autonomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trump said he would terminate them from their roles if their work conflicted with the White House.

Democrats believe the scandals have helped them paint Republicans as out of touch with a midterm election coming up focused on affordability, Manchester reports.

“People also are not stupid,” said one Democratic strategist. “When they’re struggling, they’re looking at who is gaining, right?”

▪ TIME: What to know about the Guilfoyle controversy.

Police guard a road leading to RAF Fairford, in Fairford, England, Sept. 28, 2026. (Alastair Grant, Associated Press)

FINGER POINTED: United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he’s all but certain that a suspected plot to attack a U.S.-operated air base in his country was directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), despite Tehran’s denials of involvement.

“I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard,” Burnham told British lawmakers Monday. “We will not tolerate these threats on our soil.”

In response to its conclusion, the U.K. summoned the Iranian ambassador and added two Iranians, including the head of the IRGC’s counterespionage operations, to its sanctions list. The ambassador repeated that Iran wasn’t involved and pushed for the U.K. to provide evidence for its claims, though Iran has previously said it considered the base to be a legitimate target.

Officials said the two Iranians were involved in conducting espionage and attacks on Iran’s behalf in Europe and the U.S.

Burnham previously said investigators had strong indications linking Iran to the incident, which happened outside the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford air base last month.

A total of seven men — six British nationals and one dual U.K.-Iranian citizen — have been arrested in connection with the alleged plot. Officers evacuated the area around the base after men in vans deemed suspicious were seen outside.

Police said they found gasoline in three vans linked to the initial five suspects detained but no explosives.

The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell reports on how the plot and abrupt subsequent withdrawal of all U.S. bombers from the base are expanding fears about Iran’s capabilities to strike targets outside the Middle East. Sign up for Insider here to read more of her reporting on the worries surrounding the vulnerability of the West’s military bases and assets.

▪ The Associated Press: Burnham says closer U.K.-EU relationship needed.

▪ The Associated Press: Burnham says Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit vote.

Sen. Susan Collins, (R-Maine) and her challenger for the Maine’s U.S. Senate seat, Democratic candidate Troy Jackson on July 16, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Mariam Zuhaib, Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press)

And finally … Some TV viewers in Oregon got an unexpected dose of ads attacking Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson.

A spokesperson for the nonprofit Republican Main Street Partnership, part of a Republican super PAC backing Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), confirmed that its media vendor unintentionally placed $25,000 in digital advertising in the Portland, Ore., media market instead of Portland, Maine.

The error was first reported by NBC News, noting a Portland, Ore., resident who said she received five ads attacking Jackson in the past 24 hours.

The spokesperson said the ads were immediately stopped and corrected upon the mistake being discovered, and the vendor is refunding the group for the full amount of the misplaced ad spend.