Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has delivered a bizarrely worded response to explosive allegations that she married her own brother to commit immigration fraud, insisting she was not related to her former husband - at least 'not to my knowledge.'
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she → deliver → knowledge
The Minnesota congresswoman, 44, was confronted with the extraordinary claim during a television interview on Wednesday, days after federal agents descended on her Washington, DC, home as part of an investigation into alleged immigration fraud.
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agents → confront → fraud
Omar, a prominent member of the progressive 'Squad,' dismissed the long-running accusations as 'insane' and blamed right-wing conspiracy theorists for spreading them.
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Omar → dismiss → them
But when MS NOW host Chris Hayes pressed her on whether there was even the slightest possibility that she was related to her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, her carefully worded response raised eyebrows.
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response → press → eyebrows
'Not to my knowledge,' she replied.
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she → reply → knowledge
The unusual exchange came during Omar's first major interview since Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant at her home last week, seizing phones, computers and other personal belongings.
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agents → come → phones
Hayes introduced the sensitive subject by acknowledging the extraordinary nature of the accusations, which President Donald Trump and other political opponents have repeatedly amplified.
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Trump → introduce → which
'There are right wing people who believe that this man was your brother.
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man → be → ?
You have called it a disgusting lie,' Hayes told the congresswoman.
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Hayes → call → congresswoman
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has delivered a bizarrely worded response to explosive allegations that she married her own brother to commit immigration fraud
Homeland Security Investigations police search the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on October 12 in Washington, DC as part of an ongoing criminal investigation
'Who was this man that was your husband?
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that → deliver → investigation
When did they start saying that he was your brother?
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he → start → ?
Omar claimed the allegations originated on an obscure Somali blog before being seized upon by conservative activists in Minneapolis.
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allegations → claim → Minneapolis
'It started with the Somali blog.
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It → start → blog
I don't know if it still exists, but somebody put in there that, you know, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect
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he → know → effect
,' she explained.
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she → explain → ?
'And right wing conspiracy theorists in Minneapolis got a hold of it.'
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theorists → get → it
She accused her critics of finding supposed witnesses who claimed she had introduced Elmi as her sibling.
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she → accuse → sibling
They just kind of went and found random people who were like, she introduced us.
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she → go → us
She introduced him to us and said he was her brother, which is, you know, insane.'
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you → introduce → us
Omar insisted she did not recognize the individuals making those claims.
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she → insist → claims
Hayes then asked directly whether she had been related to Elmi at all.
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she → ask → Elmi
Omar broke her silence in a wide-ranging interview with MS NOW addressing explosive allegations about her former marriage, the federal raid on her home and what she claims is a politically motivated campaign by the Trump administration
Homeland Security officers carry boxes from the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. last Monday during a search of her home
HSI agents are pictured at the entrance of Omar's home last Monday
When he followed up by asking whether there was any 'weird kernel of truth' behind the allegation, Omar responded: 'Not to my knowledge.'
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Omar → break → knowledge
There is no established evidence that Elmi is Omar's brother, and the congresswoman has consistently denied the allegation.
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congresswoman → be → allegation
The interview also provided Omar's most detailed account yet of the dramatic federal search that has placed her citizenship and personal affairs under intense scrutiny.
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that → provide → scrutiny
She claimed approximately 15 to 25 agents arrived at her residence at 6am, pounding on doors while she and her family were asleep.
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she → claim → doors
'I only had two and a half hours of sleep when they came, you know, pounding on the doors,' she recalled.
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she → have → doors
Omar said she initially feared an emergency was unfolding outside.
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emergency → say → ?
'I thought something was on fire.
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something → think → fire
I thought something was happening to the neighbors,' she explained.
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she → think → neighbors
The congresswoman said agents spent between four and five hours searching the property, eventually removing 17 items, including several phones, notebooks, a vintage camera and a Somali language book.
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agents → say → phones
She described the operation as 'intrusive but polite,' acknowledging that agents treated her belongings carefully and even folded some of her clothes.
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agents → describe → clothes
Nevertheless, she accused the Trump administration of orchestrating an intimidating spectacle designed to satisfy the president's supporters.
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she → accuse → supporters
'They had to do something, I believe, to say, hey, look, we raided her house,' she alleged.
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she → have → house
Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar has fiercely denied allegations of immigration fraud, accusing the Trump administration of pursuing a politically motivated investigation against her
Federal investigators are examining possible immigration fraud, with the Minnesota US Attorney's Office investigating whether false statements were made in immigration documents concerning Omar's birth date.
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statements → bear → date
Investigators have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including some involving Omar's relatives.
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Investigators → issue → relatives
The congresswoman maintains that she legally obtained American citizenship at 17 through her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, who became a naturalized citizen in 2000.
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who → maintain → 2000
She suggested investigators were now focusing on documents completed by her late father, who can no longer defend himself.
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who → suggest → himself
'It's also very convenient because my dad is no longer alive,' Omar told Hayes.
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Omar → tell → Hayes
'So it's another thing they can drag on forever.
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they → drag → ?
Trump has publicly suggested Omar could face imprisonment if investigators establish that she committed immigration fraud.
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she → suggest → fraud
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
