Ilhan Omar Denies Name Change Amid DOJ Investigation
Rep. Ilhan Omar denies name change claims as DOJ probe continues.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has denied claims that her name has changed, insisting her name has always been Ilhan Omar. The congresswoman made the statement after a federal court filing identified her as ‘Ilhan Nur Said Elmi,’ raising questions about her identity. Omar, speaking at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis, told Fox News Digital, ‘Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it.’ The dispute comes after reports that people familiar with the ongoing investigation identified her name as Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, matching the name of her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, whom she married in 2009.
DOJ Filing Sparks Controversy
Federal prosecutors used the name ‘Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar’ in a court filing seeking to delay the release of records connected to a search warrant for Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence. The filing does not explain why prosecutors used the alternate name. Omar’s office has dismissed the claims as ‘completely false’ and described the allegations surrounding her former marriage as a ‘disgusting conspiracy theory.’
Investigation Into Immigration Fraud
The dispute comes as federal authorities investigate possible immigration fraud involving Omar or her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, in connection with the family’s arrival in the United States. Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar’s Washington residence on October 12 and seized electronic devices and documents. Authorities have also issued subpoenas to members of her family. Omar has not yet been charged with a crime and has characterized the investigation as politically motivated.
Birth Year and Citizenship Dispute
Public records, including the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, listed Omar’s birth year as 1981 until her congressional staff asked in 2019 that it be changed to 1982. The year matters because Omar has said she derived citizenship through her father in 2000, at age 17. If she was born in 1981, she would have been too old to qualify that way.
Marriage and Immigration Allegations
The broader allegations have also prompted renewed attention to Omar’s 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi and the circumstances surrounding her subsequent marital history. Omar has denied that Elmi was her brother or that their marriage was arranged to facilitate immigration fraud. The records underlying the search warrant remain sealed, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, has urged the court to reject media requests to unseal the materials.
Source: Daily Wire
