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President Trump has repeatedly claimed that Ilhan Omar married her brother, and the speculation was previously investigated during a Democratic administration.
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speculation → sign → administration
An Obama-era federal investigation uncovered evidence that her long-disputed marriage to her former husband, British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, may have been a sham.
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marriage → uncover → husband
Several current and former law enforcement officials told The New York Times that investigators examining the Minnesota congresswoman's marriage in 2016 found evidence supporting allegations that Elmi may have been her brother.
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Elmi → tell → allegations
The longstanding allegations center on claims that Omar married Elmi to help him obtain immigration benefits.
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him → center → benefits
According to the Times, the earlier investigation ultimately stalled after prosecutors concluded that any potential offense may have fallen outside the five-year statute of limitations.
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offense → accord → limitations
But a separate review of Omar's immigration history in 2019, during Trump's first administration, reached a different conclusion.
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review → reach → conclusion
Three former immigration officials told The Washington Post that investigators found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing and did not identify problems with her naturalization.
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investigators → tell → naturalization
That review examined several of the same allegations now under scrutiny, including questions about her marriage, her age and her father's immigration records.
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review → examine → marriage
An Obama-era federal investigation uncovered evidence that her long-disputed marriage to her former husband, British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, may have been a sham
Several current and former law enforcement officials told The New York Times that investigators examining the Minnesota congresswoman's marriage in 2016 found evidence supporting allegations that Elmi may have been her brother
The application for marriage filled in by Ilhan Omar and Ahmed Elmi.
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Elmi → uncover → Omar
The ceremony in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was officiated by a Christian minister
The report adds a new layer to Trump's claims surrounding Omar as federal authorities investigate potential irregularities involving her family's immigration history.
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authorities → officiate → history
Investigators are also examining questions surrounding Omar's family's arrival in the United States in 1995 and whether her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, misrepresented information on immigration paperwork.
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father → examine → paperwork
According to The Washington Post, investigators are focusing on whether Omar or her father intentionally misstated her birth date to ensure she qualified for US citizenship through her father when he became a naturalized citizen in 2000.
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he → accord → 2000
Authorities are also examining whether her father omitted or misrepresented information about his past military service in Somalia.
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father → examine → Somalia
Omar was born in Somalia in 1982 and arrived in the United States with her family in 1995, when she was around 12 or 13.
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she → bear → 1995
The current inquiry includes questions about whether her age was accurately recorded in immigration documents, an issue that officials reviewing her file in 2019 said they could not conclusively resolve because birth records for refugees from Somalia were often unreliable.
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records → include → Somalia
The scrutiny also extends to her marriage history.
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scrutiny → extend → history
Omar left her first husband so she could marry Ahmed Elmi in 2009.
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she → leave → 2009
At the center of the immigration probe is Omar's birth year, which has appeared as both 1981 and 1982 in official records.
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which → appear → records
Her staff had it changed from 1981 to 1982 on her Minnesota legislature biography in May 2019.
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it → have → May
Rep. Ilhan Omar has claimed she obtained US citizenship through her Somali-born father, Nur Omar Mohamed, who died in 2020, though no records of her or her father's naturalization have been found
Public records show Omar legally married Elmi in February 2009.
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Omar → claim → February
The pair separated in 2011, but did not legally divorce until December 2017.
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pair → separate → December
Elmi had previously sought to move his marriage-based green card from conditional to permanent status.
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Elmi → seek → status
According to a former immigration official cited by The Washington Post, authorities requested additional evidence because of concerns about the marriage's validity, but Elmi withdrew the application after that request.
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Elmi → accord → request
The latest scrutiny comes weeks after federal agents searched Omar's Washington, DC, home on October 12 as part of a criminal investigation.
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agents → come → investigation
Agents seized her phone and passport, and authorities have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas connected to the inquiry, including subpoenas to some of her relatives.
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authorities → seize → relatives
The Justice Department has not announced charges against the congresswoman in connection with the allegations.
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Department → announce → allegations
Omar has firmly denied wrongdoing and dismissed the longstanding marriage claims as a conspiracy theory.
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Omar → deny → theory
The latest scrutiny comes weeks after federal agents searched Omar's Washington, DC, home on October 12 as part of a criminal investigation
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has also weighed in on the federal investigation, saying investigators were pursuing the case and indicating that it could be presented to a grand jury
In an interview last week with MS NOW's Chris Hayes, she described the allegation that she married her brother as 'insane' and said it originated with a blog before being amplified by right-wing conspiracy theorists.
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it → come → theorists
When Hayes asked whether there was any possibility that her former husband was related to her, Omar replied: 'Not to my knowledge.'
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Omar → ask → knowledge
The president pounced on her response during a rally in Iowa on October 22, mocking Omar for saying she didn't know whether her former husband was related to her.
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husband → pounce → her
'She didn't know whether or not she married her brother.
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she → know → brother
She wasn't sure,' Trump told the crowd, calling it 'one of the worst answers I think I've ever heard.'
He also demanded that Omar resign from Congress, claiming she had used a fake name to be sworn in.
Trump cited a Justice Department filing that used the name 'Ilhan Nur Said Elmi' in reference to Omar.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has also weighed in on the federal investigation, saying investigators were pursuing the case and indicating that it could be presented to a grand jury.
In an October 16 interview on The Charlie Kirk Show, he said investigators expected to take the case to a grand jury, but his comments did not establish that Omar had committed a crime or that prosecutors had decided to charge her.
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prosecutors → tell → her
Omar has also accused the Trump administration of using the investigation to intimidate her because of her outspoken criticism of the president.
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Omar → accuse → president
The congresswoman said she believed the search of her home was politically motivated, pointing to Trump's repeated public attacks against her.
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search → say → her
Trump has denied involvement in the search, while administration officials have maintained that law enforcement decisions are based on the facts and the law.
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decisions → deny → facts
The Justice Department has also sought to keep the application for the search warrant sealed while investigators review the evidence seized from Omar's home.
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investigators → seek → home
Prosecutors said releasing the material at this stage could jeopardize the ongoing investigation and that they had not yet decided whether to bring charges or whom to charge.
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they → say → whom
The investigation has raised questions about the timing of the search, which took place just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
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which → raise → elections
The Aporia
