Federal investigators under the Obama administration found evidence a decade ago suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., entered a sham marriage with a man believed to be her brother. The case never moved forward, according to new reports.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security looked into Omar’s 2009 marriage to British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in the summer of 2016. They found some evidence that the marriage was fraudulent, current and former officials told The New York Times. Six current and former officials familiar with the 2016 case said investigators also found evidence suggesting the two were siblings.
According to the New York Post, the case was dropped because prosecutors believed the statute of limitations had expired. The specific evidence investigators gathered has not been made public.
The 2016 investigation examined whether the marriage was arranged to help Elmi obtain U.S. immigration status. The Washington Post previously reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services asked for more evidence because of concerns about whether the marriage was valid. Elmi then withdrew his application.
Omar’s marital history has long raised questions. She entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Hirsi in 2002. In 2009 she legally married Elmi while staying in her religious union with Hirsi and continuing to have children with him. She divorced Elmi in 2017, legally married Hirsi in 2018, and married political consultant Tim Mynett in 2020.
The new reporting comes as Omar faces a separate federal investigation into her immigration and naturalization records. On Oct. 12, Homeland Security Investigations agents searched her Washington, D.C., home under a court-authorized warrant and seized electronic devices and other materials.
The New York Post reported earlier this month that federal investigators had obtained DNA evidence in the case. The results have not been made public. Two people familiar with the matter told the Post that the evidence could support bringing an immigration-fraud conspiracy case to a grand jury. Border czar Tom Homan has said investigators have a “strong case.”
Omar has repeatedly denied the allegations. When the claims first surfaced during her 2016 run for the Minnesota Legislature, she called them “absurd and offensive.” Asked more recently whether she is related to Elmi, she reportedly answered, “Not to my knowledge.”
Her spokesperson, Jackie Rogers, called the allegation a “baseless, disgusting conspiracy theory.” Omar has described the current investigation as political intimidation. When approached by Fox News Digital about the matter, she called those raising concerns “sick.”
A 2019 review of Omar’s records during President Trump’s first term did not establish evidence of citizenship fraud.
The legal stakes could be steep. Federal marriage fraud carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has argued that if the allegations are true, Omar could face criminal liability under three different statutes, including Minnesota’s incest law.
Omar was born in Somalia. Her attorneys say she became a U.S. citizen in 2000. No criminal charges related to the alleged marriage fraud have been announced.
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