Ilhan Omar denies marrying brother after breaking silence on federal investigation

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., denied Wednesday that she married her estranged husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to commit immigration fraud and pushed back against claims that they were related.

But when asked if there was a family relationship with her ex-husband, Omar admitted: “Not to my knowledge.”

It was the first time the Somali-born congresswoman spoke to the media since federal agents searched her residence in Washington, DC, on October 12. The congresswoman’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the investigations and the raid on her home earlier this month.

ILHAN OMAR BELIEVES TRUMP’S RAID ON HOUSE WAS MEANT TO “INTIMIMIT AND SCARED PEOPLE” WHEN VOTING

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks during the second day of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party convention at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn., Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

“It all started with the Somali blog,” Omar told MS Now host Chris Hayes of the long-standing rumors that they were siblings. “Someone said there that he must be my brother or something.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a court-authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation into possible false statements contained in Omar’s immigration and naturalization documents.

The Justice Department has not publicly detailed the allegations.

FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR’S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION

U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved the warrant, according to court records.

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., early Monday morning, a source familiar with the operation told Fox News Digital. (Andrew Murray/Fox News Digital)

Omar has denied any wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated. She appeared publicly for the first time since last Monday’s raid with a video posted to social media from the back of a car in which she asked her supporters to continue sending her money.

Federal authorities have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to members of Omar’s family, and seized his cellphone during the investigation, according to the Associated Press.

Fox News Digital reported that Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, spoke with federal investigators last week following the raid.

ILHAN OMAR RAID SPARKS WORRYING PREDICTION FROM WATCHDOG: “THEY PROBABLY GOT THE GOODS”

Ilhan Omar, left, wearing a patterned hijab and green scarf. Sahra Noor, sister of Ilhan Omar, speaking at an event at the University of Minnesota in 2016. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images; University of Minnesota)

A separate investigation from the immigration fraud probe is examining Omar’s campaign finances and financial disclosures.

That investigation would have begun under the Biden administration in 2024. The complaint about the huge wealth disparity in his disclosures was dismissed by congressional ethics hawks but is now being investigated by authorities outside the Capitol, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced last week.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Both investigations are still ongoing.