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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., denied Wednesday that she married her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to commit immigration fraud and pushed back against claims that they are related.
But when asked if there’s any familial relation with her ex-husband, Omar admitted, “Not to my knowledge.”
The interview marked the Somali-born congresswoman’s first time speaking with the media since federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence on Oct. 12. The congresswoman’s office has not responded to Digital’s repeated requests for comment regarding the investigations and raid on her home earlier this month.
ILHAN OMAR BELIEVES TRUMP RAID ON HOME WAS MEANT TO ‘INTIMIDATE AND SCARE PEOPLE’ FROM VOTING
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar speaks during Day 2 of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party Convention in the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn. on Saturday, May 30, 2026 (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
“It all started with the Somali blog,” Omar told MS Now host Chris Hayes regarding longstanding rumors that they are siblings. “Somebody put it there, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a court-authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into possible false statements in Omarâs immigration and naturalization documents.
The Justice Department has not publicly detailed the allegations.
FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMARâS DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved the warrant, according to court-related reporting.
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., early Monday morning, a source familiar with the operation told Digital. (Andrew Murray/ Digital)
Omar has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated. She appeared publicly for the first time since last Monday’s raid with a video posted to social media from the back of a car where she asked supporters to keep sending her money.
Federal authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to members of Omarâs family, and seized her cellphone during the investigation, according to The Associated Press.
Digital reported that Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, spoke with federal investigators last week in the wake of the raid.
ILHAN OMAR RAID SPARKS OMINOUS PREDICTION FROM WATCHDOG: ‘THEY PROBABLY GOT THE GOODS’
Ilhan Omar wearing a patterned hijab and green scarf. (L) Sahra Noor, sister of Ilhan Omar, speaking at an event at the University of Minnesota in 2016. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images; University of Minnesota)
A separate inquiry from the immigration fraud investigation is examining Omarâs campaign finances and financial disclosures.
That investigation reportedly began during the Biden administration in 2024. The complaint about her massive wealth disparity in her disclosures was dismissed by congressional ethics hawks but is now being investigated by authorities outside the Capitol, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced last week.
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Both investigations remain ongoing.
