Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) sharply denied a long-running allegation that she married her brother for immigration purposes during a tense exchange with a reporter this week.
LindellTV reporter Alison Steinberg approached Omar near her congressional office and questioned her about recent statements from White House border czar Tom Homan concerning a federal investigation involving the Minnesota lawmaker.
Steinberg first referenced Omar’s previous statements that no one is above the law and asked whether the same standard applied to her.
“I am not above the law,” Omar responded.
The reporter then directly asked, “Did you marry your brother?”
“Absolutely not. What a ridiculous thing to ask,” Omar replied. “That’s disgusting.”
When Steinberg subsequently asked whether Homan was lying about the investigation, Omar responded, “He is. He’s been saying some dumb sh*t like you.”
Homan recently said Homeland Security Investigations is conducting a criminal investigation involving Omar, though he declined to provide details about its scope or evidence because the matter remains ongoing. No criminal charges have been announced against Omar in connection with the marriage allegations.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin separately revived the controversy earlier this month when he alleged during a Republican political event that Omar had married her brother to help him enter the US.
A DHS spokesperson subsequently declined to discuss the specifics of any investigation, citing department policy regarding ongoing cases, while saying that members of Congress are not above the law.
The allegation centers on Omar’s 2009 legal marriage to British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Critics have claimed for years that Elmi was Omar’s brother and that the marriage was arranged for immigration purposes. Omar has repeatedly and categorically denied both allegations.
The controversy dates back to Omar’s 2016 campaign for the Minnesota Legislature.
At the time, Omar described suggestions that Elmi was her brother as “absurd and offensive.” She said she had married Elmi in 2009 after separating from Ahmed Hirsi, with whom she had previously entered an Islamic marriage, and later reconciled with Hirsi after her relationship with Elmi ended.
Public records examined over the years have raised questions about portions of Omar’s marital and tax history, but they have not established that Elmi is her brother.
A 2019 investigation by the Minnesota Star Tribune reviewed marriage records, business documents, university records, and social media posts, but said the available evidence could neither conclusively confirm nor disprove the alleged familial relationship, according to Trending Politics.
A separate Minnesota campaign-finance investigation referred to the brother-marriage accusation as a “never-proven” allegation.
Omar was legally married to Elmi from 2009 until their divorce was finalized in 2017. She legally married Hirsi in 2018.
The renewed scrutiny comes as federal immigration officials publicly discuss an ongoing investigation involving Omar. Homan has not disclosed what evidence investigators have obtained or whether the inquiry will result in charges.
Omar, meanwhile, continues to deny the central marriage-fraud allegation and has not been charged with wrongdoing related to her marriage to Elmi.
