Federal prosecutors are gearing up to use DNA evidence in hopes to prove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) committed immigration fraud, sources told the New York Post, and the case is looking a whole lot stronger than it did when this story was just a whisper in Minnesota political circles a decade ago.
Sources familiar with the investigation say the feds have pulled together whistleblowers, government records, and now actual DNA to back up the long-standing allegation that Omar married her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, back in 2009 in order to get him a green card. That effort apparently didn’t work out for him, but it may have worked out very badly for her.
According to Ilhan Omar immigration fraud investigation, agents from Homeland Security Investigations searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., home on October 12, and were seen leaving with boxes labeled “Seized Property Evidence.” It’s unclear whether the DNA was collected before or after that search, though one source pushed back on suggestions that investigators went “dumpster diving” for it.
Two sources said the search warrant, combined with the DNA and additional evidence, gives prosecutors a solid basis to bring conspiracy charges before a grand jury. Because prosecutors are pursuing this as a general conspiracy, some acts that fall outside the statute of limitations can still be included as “overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy,” according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. In other words, the clock doesn’t necessarily save her.
D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is also looking at Omar’s finances, including disclosures that led to her deflating her reported net worth by tens of millions of dollars due to what her camp called an accounting “discrepancy.” Pirro was blunt about it on Fox News: “That judge would not have signed that warrant unless there was probable cause. If there was a crime committed, it will be prosecuted.”
Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, said over the weekend that the feds have built “a strong case” that could lead to the administration seeking to denaturalize Omar, who came to the U.S. from Somalia in 1995. That would be an unprecedented move, legal experts note, but the administration doesn’t appear to be backing down.
Omar’s marriage history is, to put it gently, complicated. She’s been married three times and divorced twice. She filed joint taxes with one husband while still legally married to another. Her first husband, one of her later husbands, and the man accused of being her brother reportedly shared the same address at one point. And the child born during her legal marriage to Elmi adds yet another layer to a story that just keeps getting more tangled.
Her defense attorneys fired off a letter to the DOJ citing “grave concerns” and demanding the “immediate return” of all seized property, claiming the search violated proper procedure and amounted to political retribution. The DOJ wasn’t impressed. A department spokesperson called the letter “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies” and noted that leaking it to the press right after sending it was “not good faith” but “a publicity play.” Hard to argue with that one.
Omar has denied the brother-marriage allegation every time it’s come up since 2016, and her lawyers insist there’s “no legitimate basis” for any suggestion she violated citizenship laws. Grand juries, though, don’t run on press releases. Prosecutors are expected to present the case, DNA and all, and what happens next is going to be very, very interesting for the congresswoman who built her career calling everyone else a threat to democracy.
