Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is in a whole heap of trouble. That may be stating the obvious, but sometimes it’s best to state the facts, and that's certainly fact number one. The Somali-born, then naturalized US citizen is under investigation for allegedly committing immigration fraud, making false statements, and conspiracy. Last week a warrant was issued, and Homeland Security agents searched her DC residence, taking 17 items including phones and a camera.
At issue is whether her name, age, and marriage are all falsifications. Did she lie on the immigration paperwork to appear younger than she actually was? The feisty congresswoman has vociferously denied these allegations, but her words belie an undercurrent of uncertainty that is fueling the case against her. And that case became much stronger on Friday, when Jeanine Pirro, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, and the president himself revealed the allegations that the Minnesota congresswoman assumed a false identity.
Ilhan Omar – ‘Not to My Knowledge’?
One of the questions that has been circulating for years in the news media – both leftist and conservative – is whether she is married to her brother. In an interview with MS NOW’s Chris Hayes, she labeled such speculation as “insane.” However, later in the interview, when asked whether there was “a weird kernel of truth” to the allegations, she answered with a not-so-convincing “not to my knowledge.”
Should all the paperwork come back clean, it will reflect poorly on the president. It would be unseemly to take a political opponent to task on false charges. But if the immigration paperwork comes back with abnormalities, she’s toast. According to unnamed sources cited by The Washington Post: “Some members of Omar’s family have received grand jury subpoenas tied to the investigation in recent days.” That could turn out to be a big uh-oh.
Meanwhile, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro told Fox News that her office was looking closely into Omar’s finances. Paperwork Omar submitted showed she and her husband “held assets of between $6 million and $30 million, a massive rise in wealth from her previous annual filing,” according to The Post. But the Minnesota representative withdrew and changed that number. She ultimately declared that her assets were less than $100,000. That’s quite a shift for an “accounting error,” which is what Omar claimed. Pirro also told Fox News, “We’re looking at the facts. Based on the facts, we’ll follow them wherever they take us. This investigation could be even more damning for the congresswoman.”
To put it plainly, the government is all over her, with a lot at stake. What could happen to her? She could be charged with fraud, and her citizenship could be revoked, which would mean, of course, she would lose her seat in Congress. It does appear that is the end result the Trump administration is seeking. As President Donald Trump was set to leave the White House, he answered questions about Omar from the press pool. In his usual candid way, he shouted above the whirring blades, saying: “No, she’s – I’ve never been a big fan of her. I’ll be honest. Let’s see how it all works out. But that statement [as far as I know] tells you a lot.” Then, on Friday, Oct. 23, he really let the fur fly with this post on Truth Social:
“It was just revealed that Ilhan Omar’s name is not Ilhan Omar, the one she used to get elected and sworn into Congress, but rather, it’s an entirely different name, Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, and that her last name is, incredibly, also the exact name of her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the person they said she married and had children with. When asked whether or not she married her brother, she said, ‘Not to my knowledge.’ In other words, she somehow didn’t know? Therefore, because she used a fake name to be sworn in, I assume she must IMMEDIATELY resign from Congress. Please inform the Speaker of the House of Representatives, James Michael Johnson, that the Dumocrat Party has just conceded her seat. Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, her real name, has openly admitted to FRAUD, and she will not be legally allowed to be a Member of this August Body from this point forth. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Omar has represented Minnesota's fifth district, which covers most of Minneapolis, since 2019. In November, she is heavily favored to win again. This means that about the only way Omar doesn’t return to Congress is if the allegations made by President Trump and the Justice Department hold true.
