Federal prosecutors might use DNA evidence to try to prove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) committed immigration fraud, sources told the New York Post. People familiar with the investigation said that the feds used whistleblowers, government records and now obtained DNA in an effort to substantiate allegations that Omar and her family members, like her father, defrauded immigration authorities.
According to one source, the DNA evidence was critical to proving an allegation that Omar married her brother when she wed Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 in order to help him get a green card, which did not come to fruition.
It remains unclear where the DNA was taken before or after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) searched Omar’s home in Washington, DC, last Monday. At the time, federal agents were spotted leaving the bungalow with boxes marked “Seized Property Evidence.”
Two more sources said that the execution of the search warrant on October 2, as well as the DNA and additional evidence, has now provided a solid basis to bring charges of conspiracy to commit some form of immigration fraud before a grand jury. This stemmed from the probe initiated by the Minnesota US Attorney’s Office.
Also Read | Obama condemns probe into Ilhan Omar, says Trump administration is using federal power to intimidate her
The evidence will prove useful even if some of the acts fall outside of the statute of limitations, as the case is being pursued as a general conspiracy.
“If you argue a conspiracy, you can allege overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy that are outside the statute of limitations,” said Neama Rahmini, a former federal prosecutor, per the New York Post.
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is also investigating issues related to Omar’s finances. This includes entries in House disclosures that resulted in the congresswoman deflating her net worth by tens of millions of dollars in the last year due to an unexplained accounting “discrepancy.”
“That judge would not have signed that warrant unless there was probable cause,” Pirro told Fox News. “If there was a crime committed, it will be prosecuted.”
‘Strong case’ against Ilhan Omar
Tom Homan has said that the feds have built “a strong case” that could result in the Trump administration seeking to denaturalize Omar. The co congresswoman has lived in the US since her family emigrated from Somalia in 1995.
Sources previously said that immigration fraud pertained to either Omar or her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, allegedly misrepresenting the future congresswoman’s birth date in order for her to become a US citizen when her dad naturalized in 2000.
Defense attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz wrote that the feds refused to comply with a magistrate judge’s “special requests” for executing the search warrant at Omar’s home and even flouted DOJ policy by conducting it close to an election.
Also Read | Ilhan Omar citizenship row: Trump officials found no evidence of wrongdoing in 2019 review, report says
“President Trump has made no secret of his desire to target Representative Omar for criminal investigation and deportation as retribution for her political advocacy,” they said.
In response, a DOJ spokesperson said that the letter was “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies.”
“Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do,” the rep added. “Leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith. It is a publicity play.”
Meanwhile, former president Barack Obama defended Omar and criticized the Trump administration’s probe.
“It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota,” Obama wrote on X, in part.
“The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same,” he added.
