2016 Probe Found Evidence in Omar Marriage Inquiry
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigated Omar’s 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2016, while she was running for the Minnesota legislature. Current and former officials familiar with the inquiry said investigators found evidence suggesting the two may have been siblings. Omar has denied that Elmi is her brother and has called the allegation a conspiracy theory.
Prosecutors did not bring a felony marriage-fraud case, concluding that the legal filing window of five years had already closed. Officials said the limited investigative steps taken after prosecutors declined to proceed left agents with fewer tools. Elmi received a provisional green card through the marriage, but later withdrew an application to make his status permanent after immigration officials sought more evidence about the marriage, former officials said.
A separate 2019 review of Omar’s immigration history concluded there was not enough basis to suspect misconduct or flag issues in her naturalization, according to former immigration officials. That review examined questions about her marriage, age and her father’s immigration records. Officials said they could not conclusively resolve her age because refugee birth records from Somalia were often unreliable.
Federal agents searched Omar’s Washington home on October 12 in a current criminal investigation, seizing her phone, passport, computers and notebooks. Investigators are examining potential false statements in immigration documents and other questions about her family’s immigration history. The Justice Department has not announced charges. Omar has rejected the allegations, while President Donald Trump has publicly repeated them.
Old Marriage Allegations Resurface Amid Trump Inquiry
A decade-old inquiry into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s marriage is being revived as federal agents pursue a new investigation, but the earlier findings were never tested in court. Officials said the 2016 FBI and Homeland Security investigation found evidence suggesting Omar and Ahmed Nur Said Elmi may have been siblings. Prosecutors declined a felony case because they concluded the five-year statute of limitations had run out.
Omar denies the allegation and has described it as a conspiracy theory. A separate federal review in 2019 found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing and identified no problems with her naturalization, former immigration officials said. Reviewers considered some of the same questions now attracting scrutiny, including her marriage and age; they could not conclusively determine her age because records from Somalia were often unreliable.
The Trump administration’s current investigation follows a search of Omar’s Washington home on October 12, in which agents seized her phone, passport, computers and notebooks. Authorities are examining possible false statements on immigration documents and other matters involving her family. No charges have been announced.
The resurfacing of contested allegations is not proof of guilt. The earlier probe ended without prosecution, and the later review found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing. Omar has said the claims are politically driven, while Trump has publicly repeated them.
Federal Probe Found Evidence in Omar Marriage Allegations
Federal investigators found evidence supporting longstanding allegations about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 2009 marriage, officials familiar with the 2016 inquiry said. The FBI and Homeland Security examined whether Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, was her brother and whether the marriage was intended to help him obtain immigration benefits. Prosecutors did not pursue a felony case, concluding the five-year legal filing period was over.
The questions have returned as the Trump administration investigates Omar’s immigration history. Agents searched her Washington home on October 12 and seized her phone, passport, computers and notebooks. Authorities are examining possible false statements in immigration documents and other matters related to her family. No charges have been announced.
Omar denies that Elmi is her brother and calls the allegations a conspiracy theory. A separate 2019 review found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing and no identified problem with her naturalization. But the 2016 officials’ account, along with questions about Elmi’s green-card process, means the allegations have not simply disappeared: officials said he withdrew his application for permanent status after immigration authorities requested more evidence about the marriage.
The central issue is whether investigators can establish a case under the law, not whether the claims are politically convenient. Prosecutors’ earlier decision not to proceed because of the time limit left the allegations unresolved in court.
Reported by The Daily Wire, New York Post, Daily Mail US, PJ Media, Hot Air, Breitbart, Twitchy, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Townhall, The Blaze, Washington Free Beacon, KTVU FOX 2.
