Minnesota Democrat says Ilhan Omar’s fraud claims are probably true

A prominent Minnesota Democrat who served in the state House of Representatives revealed Thursday that he believes the federal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, is legitimate.

It’s the latest signal that the political dam may be breaking as scandals and investigations into the congresswoman continue to pile up.

“Democrats should understand that this allegation is almost certainly true – whatever conclusion they draw from it may vary – and his denials calling it a right-wing conspiracy, Islamophobic or racist are almost certainly not,” Joe Radinovich posted on X in reference to claims that Omar married his brother as part of an alleged fraudulent immigration scheme.

Radinovich, who served as a Minnesota state representative from 2013 to 2015 as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, added to her post that in addition to the investigation into her immigration status, the investigation into her finances could also be problematic.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference before the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“And then I would be very, very careful about how I characterize the allegations about his finances — where his defense seems similar and no significant questions have been publicly answered, and where any objective review of the evidence doesn’t seem… great,” the former state representative said.

Radinovich, a well-connected DFL operative with ties to the party’s state, federal and Minneapolis political establishments, managed Democrat Rick Nolan’s congressional campaign in 2016, successfully managed Jacob Frey’s 2017 campaign for Minneapolis mayor and later served as Frey’s chief of staff. He also won the DFL nomination for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District in 2018 before losing to Republican Pete Stauber.

Briana Rose Lee, a DFL activist in Minneapolis who served as director of operations for Omar’s campaign, responded to the post by calling it a “witch hunt.”

“Joe. You’re not stupid,” she wrote. “You know this is a baseless and fabricated witch hunt. I’m actually surprised to see this from you. This is a new low.”

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Radinovich stood by his remarks.

“You are right,” Radinovich wrote. “I’m not stupid. I believe Trump’s DOJ has virtually no credibility and it’s not clear to me that the timing of the raid was appropriate – although it’s remarkable that a judge in Washington approved it – but I’m pretty sure this specific allegation is true.”

Radinovich notably participated in two Democratic primaries against Omar, working with candidate Don Samuels in 2022 and 2024. Samuels lost both candidacies.

Radinovich’s post is the latest example of scrutiny surrounding Omar’s legal issues that is not limited to conservative media or the MAGA base.

Media outlets including the New York Times, MSNBC, NBC News and Associated Press have reported evidence suggesting Omar’s marriage and citizenship may have been fraudulent, although no criminal charges have been filed against the Minnesota congresswoman.

Omar’s home in Washington, DC, was raided by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on October 12, 2026. HSI is the primary investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His passport, phone and computer were seized during the morning operation.

Fox News later reported that investigators had possession of Omar’s DNA. Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, voluntarily submitted herself to questioning shortly after the raid, skipping her book tour due to a “family emergency.”

Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that the raid stemmed from an investigation into whether Omar or his late father, Nur Mohamed, fraudulently filled out his citizenship paperwork decades ago. The investigation, the sources said, could lead to the congresswoman’s denaturalization.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is seeking another term in Minnesota’s heavily Democratic 5th Congressional District. (Bill Clark/CQ-Appel/Getty Images)

But questions also arise about whether Omar married his brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, as part of a fraudulent immigration scheme. Omar has been plagued by this accusation for a decade, since she first ran for Minnesota state representative in 2016.

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Court filings from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia referred to Omar as “Ilhan Omar Nur Said Elmi, aka Ilhan Omar,” suggesting she shares a last name with the man she married in 2009. Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is a British citizen. Sources later told Fox News Digital that Ilhan Omar was not the Somali-born congresswoman’s “real name.”

Omar’s office has consistently denied allegations of immigration fraud, calling them right-wing smears. Most recently, she said the new review was the product of a political “vendetta” by President Donald Trump.

But on Thursday, Fox News Digital confirmed that former President Barack Obama’s administration opened an investigation into the allegedly fraudulent marriage in 2016. A source told Fox News Digital that the investigation remained open until 2021, when it was closed by the Biden administration. The Times reported that investigators believed the statute of limitations for a potential crime had passed.

Omar’s campaign attacked Radinovich in a comment Friday morning on Fox News Digital.

“Joe is a deeply troubled individual whose demons unfortunately manifested in an irrational obsession with Congresswoman Omar after running two losing campaigns against her,” the campaign states. “His claims are false, biased and without any evidence. While he was once considered a rising star within the party, Joe is now widely recognized as an accomplice to Republican and big business money.”