Lies, particularly spectacular ones, inevitably crumble over time when subject to scrutiny.
A case in point is Rep. Ilhan Omar. She is suspected of hatching a series of epic deceptions about her identity, lineage, birthdate, marriage, and citizenship status. An investigation by federal authorities culminated in a recent search of her home that was authorized by a judicial warrant.
On the same day, multiple other search warrants were executed in different locations, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen. DNA evidence was reportedly obtained. Her computer devices, document files, cell phones, and notebooks were seized. More than a dozen grand jury subpoenas were allegedly served on Omar’s family, including her sister.
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Omar has not been indicted. Yet. She denies all wrongdoing, asserting that she is a victim of a politically driven vendetta by the Trump administration. Let’s examine that.
The warrant on Omar’s home was approved by a Democratic judge in the District of Columbia, a venue with a long and conspicuous hostility toward Trump and anyone in his orbit.
It is reasonable to conclude, therefore, that the feds must have presented substantial incriminating evidence to justify the signed order, especially against a sitting member of Congress from the judge’s own party and just weeks before an important election.
Yes, the threshold of probable cause for a warrant is lower than the trial standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But the judge’s decision was not nothing. He was persuaded by compelling evidence of criminality. Apparently, he spent hours examining the merits of the warrant application. Action was taken lest evidence be destroyed.
While the specifics of the investigation remain unclear, we are acquainted with the general parameters. They pose troubling questions.
Is Ilhan Omar the person she purports to be? Was her immigration to the U.S. secured through falsehoods? Was her citizenship obtained validly or through lies? Are the rumors true that Omar engaged in a sham marriage to her brother in a scheme to obtain immigration benefits for him?
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As always, the answers depend on the reliability of the evidence collected and the credibility of witnesses. With that caveat, here are the various criminal and civil charges that might ensue.
—If Omar lied about her birthdate on immigration or citizenship forms, that constitutes false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001) and criminal fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1425). The latter carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.
—If she willfully repeated the inaccurate birthdate on other official forms, that’s more false statements and criminal fraud.
—If she enlisted others to help her enter a false birthdate, that’s a conspiracy to commit fraud.
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—If she worked with others to cover up the fraud, that’s an additional criminal conspiracy (18 U.S.C. §§ 371 or 1349), aiding and abetting (18 U.S.C. § 2), and obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. §§ 1505 and 1519).
—If Omar misrepresented that she was a minor when she obtained derivative citizenship from her father, the fraud nullifies her citizenship.
—If her father lied to obtain citizenship, the original fraud could invalidate her derivative citizenship.
—If her father never actually obtained citizenship, then Omar’s citizenship is likely invalid.
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—If Omar used a false identity on immigration forms and any other government forms such as passport applications, that is criminal identity fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1028) and false statements.
—If she knowingly married her sibling, it is illegal and considered a crime in all 50 states.
If any of the above scenarios can be proven by the government, Omar would not only be susceptible to criminal charges and other civil actions, but she could face denaturalization, removal proceedings, and eventual deportation.
Omar’s troubles are compounded by a separate criminal investigation into the sharp fluctuations in her finances. It was launched by the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. How exactly did the congresswoman and her current husband, political consultant Tim Mynett, go from almost no assets to as much as $30 million in a single year?
When the information on her congressional disclosure became public and alarming questions arose, Omar revised the figures to reflect what could be a negative net worth. That’s quite the financial whiplash. She blamed it on an accounting mistake. Just a goof. But tens of millions of dollars is hardly a simple rounding error. In the annals of financial slip-ups, it’s a whopper. If you or I did that, government auditors would be knocking at the door.
Omar continually dismisses the controversy as nothing more than politically motivated attacks. But that dubious deflection conveniently ignores that it was the Biden administration that initiated the investigation.
Of course, Omar enjoys the presumption of innocence should any charges arise. But there are unsettling aspects to the story she tells.
In a recent television interview on MS NOW, she was asked if she married her brother. Her reply was jaw-dropping, albeit revealing. “Not to my knowledge,” she said.
Wait…she didn’t say “no”? Or “absolutely not?”
Think for a moment about her response. It is not an unqualified denial, but a bewildering equivocation that could mean, “If he is my brother, I don’t really know it.” It’s called the ignorance defense. It creates the prospect that she may, indeed, have unknowingly married her brother.
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It appears that Omar was coached by a lawyer to avoid a direct false statement by waffling instead. But that will not protect her if it can be shown that she did have knowledge. It places her in legal jeopardy, as noted above.
Persistent rumors about a sham marriage for immigration benefits also connect to questions about the congresswoman’s identity. Fox News reported that Ilhan Omar is not her real name, according to two people familiar with the ongoing investigation, including a law enforcement source.
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Her real name is identified in a new court filing by the U.S. attorney in D.C. It refers to her as “Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.” This indicates that the government believes that “Omar” has been living her life under an alias and that her real birth name has the same surname as her alleged brother-husband.
Perhaps there’s an explanation. Maybe Omar adopted the surname of her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, when she married him in 2009. That seems reasonable except that Omar’s late father also went by the name Nur Said Elmi, according to an examination of documents by the New York Post.
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Establishing Omar’s true identity and whether she might have once married her brother probably explains why investigators were so interested in obtaining DNA. Genetic science is the closest thing we have to absolute certainty. It’s the ultimate eyewitness. It doesn’t lie.
There is a popular biological proverb that seems felicitous in the Ilhan Omar case: “You can hide your past, you can alter your name, but your DNA will always whisper the truth of who you are.”
Who is Ilhan Omar? We may soon find out.