DNA evidence could prove Ilhan Omar wed her brother, committed immigration fraud: Sources
WASHINGTON, DC: A years-long federal criminal investigation into Rep Ilhan Omar over alleged immigration fraud appears to have reached a new stage, with officials reportedly obtaining potentially significant evidence.
Sources familiar with the probe have revealed to NY Post that federal prosecutors are using whistleblowers, government records, and newly obtained DNA to substantiate decade-old allegations that the Somali-born congresswoman and potentially members of her family, including her father, misled immigration authorities when they moved to America in the 1990s.
The revelation came after Homeland Security officials raided Omar’s Washington, DC, home and subpoenaed her sister, Sahra Noor, and at least one other person in her family circle.
DNA evidence could prove Ilhan Omar wed her brother
Insider has noted that the DNA evidence could prove crucial to investigating allegations that Omar married her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, in 2009 to help him obtain a green card, though the alleged plan never came to fruition.
Omar has repeatedly denied any accusations of the rumored sibling marriage since 2016, when she was first running for office as a state representative.
According to the Washington Post, Elmi, who divorced Omar in 2017, reportedly applied for a marriage-based green card in 2019 before withdrawing his application after US Citizenship and Immigration Services requested additional evidence about their marriage.
Two more sources indicated that Homeland Security’s October 2 raid on Omar’s residence and DNA evidence could build a strong base to bring charges of conspiracy to commit some form of immigration fraud before a grand jury, stemming from the probe initiated by the Minnesota US Attorney’s Office.
Since the case is being investigated as an alleged broader conspiracy, the evidence could remain relevant even if some of the suspected acts fall beyond the statute of limitations.
“If you argue a conspiracy, you can allege overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy that are outside the statute of limitations,” Neama Rahmini, a former federal prosecutor, told the New York Post.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is also examining Omar’s finances, including discrepancies in House financial disclosures that reportedly led to the congresswoman’s declared net worth dropping by tens of millions of dollars within a year. The accounting discrepancy has yet to be fully explained.
Feds have made ‘strong case’ to denaturalize Ilhan Omar, says Tom Homan
Citing the evidence, President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has insisted that officials have built “a strong case” that could result in the Trump administration seeking to denaturalize Omar, who is seeking her fifth term representing Minnesota's 5th congressional district.
Homan’s claims came after it was revealed that her staff helped get her birthdate changed in public records once the Minnesota Democrat was elected to Congress in 2018.
Omar’s date of birth had been listed as October 4, 1981, in the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, on reference websites such as Wikipedia and in media reports by outlets including the BBC. The date remained unchanged throughout her tenure in the Minnesota House and for several months after she entered Congress.
However, in May 2019, her congressional staff sought to amend the birth year to 1982, following the viral spread of a video by a political opponent questioning her age, according to emails reviewed by The Post.
“On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the director of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library wrote in an email days after the change was made.
