Amidst various campaign finance related controversies, Ilhan Omar has also been plagued by allegations that she committed marriage fraud with her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Omar was engaged to Ahmed Hirsi in 2002, but had a Muslim ceremony instead of a legal marriage. They had two children together before splitting in 2008. The next year Omar legally married Elmi, who was described as a “British citizen” on their marriage license.
These allegations date back to 2016, two years before she was in the public eye running for Congress.
The FBI announced that they were investigating the allegations in January, and if true, Omar could be found guilty of a felony offense punishable with a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000. It would also cost her political career.
The most recent revelation came yesterday when the Daily Mail reported that Abdihakim Osman, an old friend of Omar’s, said Omar told friends years ago that Elmi was her brother. Omar had reportedly told him and others that she would be getting Elmi papers to stay in the U.S., but he didn’t realize that meant marriage until the media turned up a marriage certificate years later.
While anything reported in a tabloid should obviously be treated with skepticism, Omar’s response to the allegations merely took the form of two tweets, one complaining that criticism of her is “anti-Muslim,” and another claiming that someone must’ve paid the Daily Mail to generate a fake story. According to the New York Post: Omar blasted “fake news stories” and those trafficking in “anti-Muslim smears” on Thursday — hours after a report was published claiming that she married her brother.
“The same people who chastise the progressive movement regularly traffic in anti-Muslim smears and hate speech against me and those I represent,” she said. “It’s almost as if they don’t genuinely care about online harassment.”
The 38-year-old congresswoman was responding to tweets from “The View” co-host Meghan McCain, including one from Wednesday that criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders and his “army of Bernie bro’s” for misogynistic online attacks. The other was a screengrab in which McCain shared another tweet accusing Omar of marrying her brother and wrote: “How is this not a bigger deal?”
“Paying people to generate fake news stories in order to delegitimize me and those I represent isn’t a good look,” Omar wrote. “Desperation is a sad mobilizing tool.”
Paying people to generate fake new stories in order to delegitimize me and those I represent isn’t a good look.
Desperation is a sad mobilizing tool.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 20, 2020
TPUSA’s Benny Johnson fired back “Hi Ilhan, My government sources tell me that they have you dead-to-rights on immigration fraud. Hard evidence. It’s gonna be bad – and you know it. Keep tweeting.”
Hi Illhan,
My government sources tell me that they have you dead-to-rights on immigration fraud. Hard evidence.
It’s gonna be bad – and you know it.
Keep tweeting.
Tick-Tock. https://t.co/tFzNIiEvDu— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2020
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
