Rep. Ilhan Omar in her official congressional portrait. File photo: Kristie Boyd / U.S. House Office of Photography, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped.
Fox News reported Thursday that a federal investigation into an alleged immigration-fraud scheme involving Rep. Ilhan Omar’s former marriage began in 2016 during the Obama administration, years before the current investigation.
In its October 29 report, Fox News said the earlier inquiry examined allegations that the Minnesota Democrat had married her brother. Fox also reported Omar’s repeated denial of that allegation. The report does not establish that the allegation is true.
In its account of The New York Times’ reporting, Fox News wrote: “Reporting by The New York Times reveals that Obama’s Department of Homeland Security and the FBI did a deep dive in the summer of 2016 into whether Omar entered into a sham marriage with her alleged brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to enable him to secure a green card.”
Citing a source familiar with the matter, Fox News said a Biden-appointed U.S. attorney in Minnesota ended the investigation in 2021. Fox attributed to The New York Times a separate account that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security began investigating in the summer of 2016 and that officials later concluded the potential offense was outside the statute of limitations.
Fox reported a different explanation from Omar’s spokesperson, who said the earlier investigation was rejected for lack of evidence. The spokesperson described the current inquiry as politically motivated and again denied the marriage allegation, according to Fox.
The renewed investigation includes questions about Omar’s citizenship application, Fox reported. Fox said federal investigators searched her Washington home on October 12 and took her passport, phone and computer.
Fox also reported that former President Barack Obama criticized the renewed investigation as selective targeting of a political critic. Fox said it sought comment from Obama’s spokesperson and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. JBizNews has not independently verified Fox’s account.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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