Trump: ‘I Hear’ Ilhan Omar ‘Was Married to Her Brother’
President brings up allegations that radical Democrat wed her biological brother
© press
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that "there's a lot of talk" about Rep. Ilhan Omar being "married to her brother" during an impromptu press conference on the White House lawn.
The president was responding to questions about the four controversial Democratic lawmakers in the so-called "AOC Squad."
Trump made the remarks shortly before he departed for a campaign event, reigniting rumors that first surfaced during Omar's state Senate campaign in 2016.
A reporter asked President Trump "if the administration was looking into possible immigration fraud committed by Ilhan Omar for possibly marrying her brother."
"Well there's a lot of talk about the fact that she was married to her brother," Trump said.
"I know nothing about it, I hear that she was married to her brother, you're asking me a question about it.
"I don't know but I'm sure that somebody would be looking at that."
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
© press
According to the Daily Wire, questions about Omar's marital history have repeatedly been in the news as multiple news organizations have asked Omar to provide documents and answer specific questions that could clear up any controversy.
Omar has refused to answer any questions about the matter.
Last month, the Star Tribune reported that "new investigative documents released by a state agency have given fresh life to lingering questions about the marital history of Rep. Ilhan Omar and whether she once married a man — possibly her own brother — to skirt immigration laws."
"Sent a list of questions and a request to talk to her siblings and father, Omar declined to do so," the Tribune added.
"Omar declined to make her tax and immigration records available for this report. ...
"Omar’s relatives could also clear the air, but they have remained silent about her marriage ...
"She declined to make her family available for this story."
President Donald Trump on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN): “There's a lot of talk about the fact that she was married to her brother. I know nothing about it. … I’m sure that somebody would be looking at that” pic.twitter.com/U6Vs7UpblZ
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) July 17, 2019
The Washington Examiner reported last month a slightly different angle to the story:
"Dozens of official documents suggest that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was living with her current husband, Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, throughout her entire legal marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, contradicting the story she tells to explain her multiple marriages."
© press
Elmi is the man that critics allege is her brother, as noted by the Star Tribune.
"Omar has denied the allegations in the past, dismissing them as 'baseless rumors' first raised in an online Somali politics forum and championed by conservative bloggers during her 2016 campaign for the Minnesota House," the Tribune reported.
"But she said little then or since about Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the former husband who swept into her life in 2009 before a 2011 separation.
"The questions surfaced again this month in a state probe of campaign finance violations showing that Omar filed federal taxes in 2014 and 2015 with her current husband, Ahmed Hirsi, while she was still legally married to but separated from Elmi," the Tribune added.
"Although she has legally corrected the discrepancy, she has declined to say anything about how or why it happened.
"The new documents also detail the Omar campaign’s efforts to keep the story of her marriage to Elmi out of the press, arguing that detailed coverage would legitimize the accusations and invade her privacy."
