Imagine showing up to court and the judge calls you by your ex-husband’s name. That is exactly what happened this week in a federal filing. Officials with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia now refer to Rep. Ilhan Omar as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi”.
The document signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro asks to unseal materials related to a search warrant for the home of “Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar”. This specific name choice renews old whispers that her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is actually her brother. If true, it suggests she married him to help him get into the country.
On Wednesday evening, Omar sat down with Chris Hayes on MS NOW to address these swirling rumors. Hayes asked her straight up if she was related to her former husband. Omar replied, “Not to my knowledge”.
That answer has gone viral online, and President Donald Trump mocked it Thursday. He said, “Well, if you ask me that same question about, let’s say my sister, I would say no”. Trump added that her response, “Not to my knowledge,” tells you a lot right there.
Omar tried to explain the origin of the rumor during the interview. She claimed the story “started with the Somali blog” before “right-wing conspiracy theorists in Minneapolis got a hold of it”. She called the idea that she married her brother “insane”. Yet, she never outright denied the family link when pressed on the specific question.
The legal pressure is mounting beyond just words. Federal investigators executed a search warrant at Omar’s Washington, D.C., home last week. Breitbart reports they allegedly seized 17 items and gathered DNA intended to show she engaged in immigration fraud.
Federal prosecutors intend to utilize this DNA proof to establish Omar wed her brother. The investigation also looks into whether her late father lied on immigration forms about her age when she became a citizen in 2000. Omar obtained citizenship when she was allegedly 17 years old.
Omar has denied any wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated. She accused the administration of using the probe to intimidate her and score points with supporters. She even said she planned to leave her Washington residence because she feared for her family’s safety.
These allegations have circulated for nearly a decade without proof. The congresswoman married Elmi in 2009, separated in 2011, and divorced him in 2017. Despite her denials, her immigration and marriage history remains clouded.
Fox News indicates the Justice Department has made no public disclosure regarding the precise accusations leveled against her. Fox News notes, however, that federal authorities served over a dozen grand jury subpoenas, some directed at relatives of Omar. Her sister, Sahra Noor, reportedly spoke with federal investigators.
The case now hinges on whether the DNA and documents found in that raid can confirm the family ties Omar seems unwilling to deny directly. The answer to that question could change everything about her time in office.
