Federal investigators are reportedly seeking to use DNA evidence collected at Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) Washington, D.C. residence to support long-standing allegations that she committed immigration fraud, according to a report from the New York Post citing unnamed sources.
Sources told the Post that the Department of Justice is pursuing DNA evidence as part of a years-long criminal investigation into Omar, who was born in Somalia. The sources said investigators have also relied on whistleblowers and government records in the probe, which centers on decade-old allegations that Omar, and possibly family members including her father, defrauded U.S. immigration authorities.
One source told the Post that the DNA evidence is seen as critical to proving an allegation that Omar married her brother when she wed Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, allegedly in an attempt to help him obtain a green card. That green card application was never approved, according to the report.
Separately, NewsNation reported this week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had been investigating Omar for months before a raid last week. According to that report, ICE agents met in January with Scott Johnson of Powerline Blog, one of the first outlets to publish allegations that Omar married her brother to help him obtain U.S. citizenship more quickly.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has also said her office has opened a separate financial investigation into the congresswoman. Omar’s finances were previously examined during the Biden administration after reports surfaced that she had amassed a multimillion-dollar net worth.
Omar has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis, since 2019. She has not been charged with a crime in connection with the allegations described in these reports.
