For many years, it was a tradition that when a president left office, he mostly withdrew from public life, save for certain ceremonial occasions. After all, it's sort of a career pinnacle; also, it's a draining job, often taking a physical toll on the people who hold that office.
Barack Obama, on the other hand, seems all too willing to keep sticking his finger in the pot. In his latest, the former president has weighed in on the investigation into possible immigration fraud by Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and is, in effect, pointing at President Trump and shouting j'accuse!
Former President Barack Obama accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the federal government against its political enemies in a social media post defending Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., amid an investigation into the progressive lawmaker's citizenship.
Obama claimed the administration is attempting to strip Omar of her U.S. citizenship and deport her over her criticism of President Donald Trump, warning that the effort could set a dangerous precedent.
"It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say," Obama wrote Sunday on X. "But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota."
Of course, that's not exactly what the Trump administration is doing to Ilhan Omar. There are a couple of things the former president seems to either have missed or just ignored.
For one thing, this isn't the first investigation involving the Congresswoman; a separate inquiry into her finances began during the Biden administration.
As for the current immigration problem, the former president, like so many on the Left who are consumed with Trump Derangement Syndrome, Barack Obama seems to lack (or, he just doesn't care) whether due process was observed in every detail. The search warrants for Omar's home were duly signed by a judge — U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Columbia Matthew J. Sharbaugh — who also imposed safeguards governing legislative materials that might be found there. To issue the warrant, Sharbaugh had to find probable cause to believe evidence of a crime would be found in the home. That's how due process works.
Just as a curiosity: Judge Sharbaugh was sworn into his current role by none other than Chief Judge James E. Boasberg, who is no friend to the Trump administration.
So, no, this is not just some fishing expedition. This is precisely how due process works: And besides, only a few short months ago, weren't Democrats shouting about how nobody was above the law? When worn on the other foot, the shoe pinches.
Obama defended Omar's citizenship, saying she arrived in the United States with her father at age 12 and automatically became a citizen at 17 when her father was naturalized.
The former president accused investigators of pursuing an "unsubstantiated theory" that Omar was actually 18 at the time, which he said would have required her to apply for citizenship separately.
Whatever ultimately comes of that theory, investigators presented enough to a federal magistrate judge to obtain a warrant to search Omar's home for evidence. That's precisely how our system is supposed to work.
Look, to anyone to the right of Leon Trotsky, it would be a pure delight to see the execrable Ilhan Omar stripped of her citizenship and sent forthwith back to Mogadishu. But satisfying as that may be personally, any effort to strip Omar of her citizenship must proceed through the legal process required by federal law. That process is now underway, and the government's case — and the manner in which it has pursued it — will have to withstand judicial scrutiny. So former President Obama needs to stop wagging his finger and let the investigators do their jobs — no matter what the outcome.
Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.