Over the past decade, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has continuously dodged allegations that she married her brother to help him obtain legal immigration status in the United States. Last week the controversy exploded anew as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Benny Johnson an investigation into the claim is under way.
On Sunday, another Trump administration official, border czar Tom Homan, confirmed the existence of an “ongoing criminal investigation” of Omar by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division.
‘We’re gonna take a look at it. If we think that there’s a crime, we’re gonna prosecute that crime.’
Homan’s admission came during a segment on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing.”
Homan told Fox News that “if someone committed immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they’re a congressman or not, no one’s above the law.” When pressed he further, confirmed the existence of a current criminal investigation into Omar.
Homan and Mullin are not the only Trump administration officials to claim that investigations into Omar and the validity of her citizenship are under way. In May, Vice President JD Vance told a reporter, “We’re gonna take a look at it. If we think that there’s a crime, we’re gonna prosecute that crime. And that’s something the Department of Justice is looking at right now.”
For her part, Omar has consistently denied the allegations. In March, after an earlier claim of fraud by Vance, her chief of staff released a statement to Fox News: “This is a ridiculous lie and desperate attempt to distract from the pedophile protection party’s unpopular war of choice, increasing gas prices, and rapidly dropping polling numbers.”
RELATED: DHS secretary: Ilhan Omar married her brother, and consequences are coming
The allegations have dogged Omar since she won her primary for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016. In August of that year, Scott Johnson reported at Power Line blog that a since-deleted post on Somalispot claimed that “Omar married her brother Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, implying that the latter marriage assisted his entry into the United States.”
Power Line’s Johnson further looked into marriage records and reached out to those involved. He received a response from attorney Jean Brandl, which was the first in a long line of Omar denials regarding the allegations, “There are people who do not want an East African, Muslim woman elected to office and who will follow Donald Trump’s playbook to prevent it.”
Brandl continued, “Ilhan Omar’s campaign sees your superfluous contentions as one more in a series of attempts to discredit her candidacy.”
RELATED: JD Vance reveals Ilhan Omar is under federal investigation — and it may be about her marriage
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In 2020 after the allegations again surfaced, Omar unequivocally denied the allegations via a statement. She wrote, “A number of baseless rumors have been made recently about my personal life and family. I will say it again here: they are absolutely false and ridiculous.”
Omar went on to detail her side of the marriage timeline.
The Department of Homeland Security and Rep. Omar have not responded to Blaze News’ requests for comment.
Read the full article here
