Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar gave an unusually guarded answer on Wednesday when pressed on whether she was related to her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. She called the long-circulating claim that she married her brother “insane,” then said the two were not related “to my knowledge.” The exchange came during an interview with MS NOW host Chris Hayes, her first extended television appearance since Homeland Security Investigations agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence on October 12 as part of an ongoing immigration fraud investigation.
A Carefully Worded Denial
Hayes noted that President Donald Trump and other critics have repeatedly made the allegation that Elmi is Omar’s brother, and asked whether there was any “weird kernel of truth” to it. “Not to my knowledge,” Omar replied. Her phrasing drew immediate attention because she did not simply say no when asked whether the two were related.
“Somebody put in there that, you know, he had to have been my brother or something to that effect.”
Omar said the claim first surfaced on a “Somali blog” before being amplified by “right-wing conspiracy theorists.”
The Decade-Old Accusation
Omar said unidentified people later asserted that she had introduced Elmi as her brother. She dismissed those accounts as “insane” and said she did not know the people making them. The underlying allegation dates back roughly a decade and holds that Omar legally married Elmi in 2009 as part of an immigration scheme. No publicly available evidence has conclusively established that Elmi is her biological brother.
Omar has repeatedly denied the accusation, previously calling it a false and offensive attack on her family and her immigration history. The claim has regained attention because federal investigators are now examining her immigration records. Reporting indicates, however, that the probe extends well beyond the allegation involving Elmi. CNN reported that investigators are looking into whether Omar or her late father provided inaccurate information about her age when she obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000, including whether government documents incorrectly listed her as a minor.
Leaving the Home and Facing Threats
Omar told Hayes she no longer plans to live at the Washington residence that was searched, saying the address has become public and that she fears for the safety of herself and her family.
“I can’t continue to live there.”
She said she has received death threats and is concerned that people could track family members who visit the property. Omar came to the United States as a Somali refugee in the 1990s. She maintains that she became an American citizen at age 17 through her father, after he was naturalized.
A Widening Inquiry
According to people familiar with the investigation, the inquiry has grown substantially in recent weeks. At least a dozen subpoenas have been issued to potential witnesses, many of them Omar’s relatives. Investigators have also interviewed Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, as prosecutors examine possible false statements on government paperwork and whether a broader conspiracy involving members of Omar’s family existed.
A federal magistrate judge authorized the search of Omar’s residence but placed restrictions on investigators’ access to seized records. The limits stem from constitutional protections under the Speech or Debate Clause, which shields lawmakers’ legislative work.
What Was Seized, and What the DNA Reports Do and Don’t Show
Omar said agents moved through the home room by room and removed 17 items, including cellphones, notebooks belonging to her husband, a camera, and a Somali phrase book. She described the search as “intrusive but polite” and disputed separate reports that agents had obtained her DNA during the raid.
The New York Post reported earlier this week that federal investigators possess DNA evidence they hope could help examine the allegation involving Omar and Elmi. The newspaper did not report any test results or identify whose DNA was obtained. That distinction matters: the existence of DNA evidence does not by itself establish a biological relationship between Omar and Elmi, and authorities have not publicly announced that genetic testing has proven the allegation.
