The FBI is “reviewing” ongoing allegations that freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) married her brother in an effort to help him obtain a green card and study in the United States, according to The New York Post.
In October, FBI agents met with a “concerned party” who presented documents detailing Omar’s marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 and discussed the outgoing claims that have circulated for months, a source told the newspaper.
The Post reports:
The two agents said they would share the information with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Education, but did not commit to opening an investigation into the firebrand lawmaker, the source said.
If Omar did marry her brother, she could be found guilty of committing marriage fraud — a felony offense punishable with a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
The three government agencies said they would not confirm the existence of any ongoing or potential investigation.
Congresswoman Omar’s office did not respond to request for comment but she has repeatedly denied the allegations — calling them “disgusting lies.”
The Post’s story was first reported by The Blaze.
Omar previously claimed that she married Ahmed Hirsi in an Islamic ceremony in 2002, though the couple never married legally. The pair separated in 2008 and later remarried, legally, in 2018. The Minnesota Democrat then legally married Elmi in 2009. After the two wed, Elmi enrolled at North Dakota State University, reported blogger David Steinberg.
The Post‘s report comes after Omar formally divorced Ahmed Hirsi in November, one month after filing a petition stating there had been an “irretrievable breakdown” in their marriage. The two were married since January 2018 but had been longtime partners. Hirsi is the father of three children with her.
Omar filed for divorce after the Post first reported allegations that she was involved in an extramarital affair with political strategist Tim Mynett. In August, Mynett’s wife filed for divorce after the consultant allegedly confessed to her that he was romantically involved with Omar and revealed he was in love with the freshman congresswoman.
In a counterclaim, Mynett alleged his estranged wife made up the story as part of a “negative campaign” to “seemingly in an effort to ruin his career.”
The alleged affair could pose legal problems for Omar, who is the subject of a formal complaint from a conservative watchdog that accuses the lawmaker of illegally using campaign money to conduct her alleged affair with Mynett.
As Breitbart News reported:
Federal campaign finance records show that Omar’s campaign has paid nearly $230,000 since 2018 to the E. Street Group, a political strategy firm of which the lawmaker’s alleged married lover, Tim Mynett, is a partner of. On Tuesday, Mynett’s wife, Dr. Beth Jordan Mynett, filed for divorce in a D.C.-area court, alleging her spouse confessed to having an affair with Omar in April, the same month FEC documents show that the lawmaker’s campaign began issuing payments to E. Street Group for “travel expenses.” According to FEC filings, the Minnesota Democrat’s campaign made eight payments totaling $21,547 to E. Street Group for travel costs between April and June. The divorce filings, first reported by the New York Post, also states Tim Mynett made a “shocking declaration of love” for the Minnesota Democrat to his wife and left her soon after.
The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), the right-leaning non-profit group behind the complaint against Omar, alleges the timelines of the affair and travel payments overlap. As per FEC guidelines, lawmakers are forbidden from using campaign money for personal travel expenses unless the candidate pays the money back using their personal funds.
“If Ilhan for Congress reimbursed Mynett’s LLC for travel so that Rep. Omar would have the benefit of Mynett’s romantic companionship, the expenditures must be considered personal in nature,” reads the complaint. “Rep. Omar’s filings do not reveal subsequent reimbursements for Mynett’s travel.”
Neither Omar or her office have commented on the Post’s report or the complaint.
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