President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar at his Iowa rally Thursday night, alleging she was sworn into Congress using a ‘fake name.’
A new name for the Minnesota Democrat was revealed in a Department of Justice filing, with Omar, 44, referred to as ‘Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.’
On his Sioux City rally stage, Trump read the new name to the crowd.
‘Because she used a fake name to be sworn in, I assume she must immediately have to resign from Congress,’ the President claimed.
He called down to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was in the audience, to get some feedback.
‘So please inform our great Speaker of the House of Representatives… that the Democrat Party has just conceded her seat,’ Trump said. ‘I don’t think it’s looking too good. Republicans have just picked up a seat in the House,’ he chuckled.
Trump also, again, alleged that Omar had once married her brother.
‘And the last name is, incredibly, also the exact last name as her brother … the person that they say she married and had children with,’ Trump said. ‘Are you allowed to do that?’ he asked supporters.
President Donald Trump revealed what he said was Representative Ilhan Omar’s ‘fake name’ during a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, and suggested that disqualified her from serving in Congress
President Donald Trump also reveled in an answer that Representative Ilhan Omar (pictured) gave in an interview with MSNOW’s Chris Hayes, that ‘not to my knowledge’ was she ever married to her brother
A spokesperson for Omar did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
At the rally and earlier at the White House, the President reveled in an awkward answer the Minnesota Democrat gave to MSNOW’s Chris Hayes when asked if she had ever married her sibling.
She had answered, ‘not to my knowledge.’
‘Well, if you asked me that same question about, let’s say, my sister, I would say “no.” She said “not to my knowledge.” That tells you a lot right there,’ Trump told the press gathered on the South Lawn.
On October 12, Omar had federal agents descend on her residence in Washington, DC, as part of a criminal fraud investigation into the Democrat‘s immigration paperwork.
Omar has characterized the investigation as being politically motivated.
Trump admitted he’s ‘never been a big fan of hers’ and advised everyone to ‘see how it works out’ with the investigation.
He reiterated, however, that ‘that statement tells you a lot.’
Donald Trump believes Ilhan Omar spoke loud and clear when she said she answered ‘not to my knowledge’ after being asked if she’d married her brother
The Democrat dismissed the long-running accusations as ‘insane’ and blamed right-wing influencers for spreading the conspiracy theories.
Hayes pressed her on whether there was even the slightest possibility that she was related to her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
‘You were not related to him at all? There’s not a weird kernel of truth…’ Hayes said.
‘Not to my knowledge,’ she replied.
The unusual exchange came during Omar’s first major interview since Homeland Security Investigations seized phones, computers and other personal belongings from her home.
Hayes introduced the sensitive subject by acknowledging the extraordinary nature of the accusations, which President Donald Trump and other political opponents have repeatedly amplified.
‘There are right wing people who believe that this man was your brother. You have called it a disgusting lie,’ Hayes told the congresswoman.
‘Who was this man that was your husband? When did they start saying that he was your brother? Why?’ referring to her former husband.
Trump, who has long feuded with Omar, found it strange that the leftist phrased it that way when asked by the press outside the White House Thursday
Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009. They divorced in 2017. She has denied claims he is her brother
Omar claimed the allegations originated on a Somali blog before being picked up by conservative activists in Minneapolis.
‘It started with the Somali 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. And right wing conspiracy theorists in Minneapolis got a hold of it,’ she explained.
‘And they just kind of went and found random people who were like, she introduced us. She introduced him to us and said he was her brother, which is, you know, insane. I mean, I don’t know those people that they talk about.’
Hayes then pressed the congresswoman on whether there was any truth to the allegations.
Omar accused her critics of finding supposed witnesses who claimed she had introduced Elmi as her sibling.
‘They just kind of went and found random people who were like, “She introduced us. She introduced him to us and said he was her brother,” which is, you know, insane.’
Omar insisted she did not recognize the individuals making those claims.
There is no established evidence that Elmi is Omar’s brother, and the congresswoman has consistently denied the allegation.
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
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.
She claimed approximately 15 to 25 agents arrived at her residence at 6am, pounding on doors while she and her family were asleep.
‘I only had two and a half hours of sleep when they came, you know, pounding on the doors,’ she recalled.
Omar said she initially feared an emergency was unfolding outside.
‘I thought something was on fire. I thought something was happening to the neighbors,’ she explained.
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.
She described the operation as ‘intrusive but polite,’ acknowledging that agents treated her belongings carefully and even folded some of her clothes.
Nevertheless, she accused the Trump administration of orchestrating an intimidating spectacle designed to satisfy the president’s supporters.
‘They had to do something, I believe, to say, hey, look, we raided her house,’ she alleged.
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.
Investigators have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including some involving Omar’s 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.
She suggested investigators were now focusing on documents completed by her late father, who can no longer defend himself.
‘It’s also very convenient because my dad is no longer alive,’ Omar told Hayes. ‘So it’s another thing they can drag on forever.’
Trump has publicly suggested Omar could face imprisonment if investigators establish that she committed immigration fraud.
‘She could go to jail,’ the president said on Tuesday. ‘They keep talking about deportation.’
Omar, however, insisted she had committed no wrongdoing and accused the administration of pursuing a politically motivated campaign against her.
She also addressed separate questions surrounding her family’s finances after congressional disclosure documents appeared to value business interests connected to her husband, Tim Mynett, at approximately $30 million.
Omar has fiercely denied allegations of immigration fraud, accusing the Trump administration of pursuing a politically motivated investigation against her
That figure was subsequently revised substantially downward, with Hayes saying liabilities reduced the reported valuation to around $20,000.
Omar rejected suggestions that she was secretly wealthy, portraying herself as an ordinary working American struggling with everyday expenses.
‘I mean, it’s, you know, working, working class, I guess, like paycheck to paycheck still,’ she said.
‘We’ve got four kids. And, you know, we live, I think, like a basic life.’
She pointed to the family’s modest vehicle as evidence.
‘I have a Toyota Camry that’s from 2016. It’s our only car. I rent my DC place and my Minneapolis place.’
Omar also revealed that she intends to leave her Washington residence after its address became public following the search.
Citing the death threats she regularly receives, she said remaining at the property would endanger her family’s privacy and security.
‘I can’t continue to live there,’ she declared.
Despite the mounting legal and political pressure, Omar insisted she would not be driven out of Congress.
She claimed the president’s ultimate objective was to force her from public office, arguing that her opponents resented someone of her background and faith holding political power.
‘I think that’s ultimately the thing that they want,’ she said.
