‘Not to my knowledge’: Ilhan Omar’s response on alleged marriage to her brother sparks controversy
In the same conversation, Omar called the accusation preposterous. Even so, her response to the direct question was not a resounding "no," but rather a phrasing that leaves room for doubt.
Progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had the opportunity to clearly deny one of the allegations that has dogged her for nearly a decade. However, she did not do so, and further fueled the controversy on social media and in the press.
When asked if there was any truth to the claim that her ex-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, was actually her brother, the Democratic lawmaker responded with a strange statement: "Not to my knowledge."
Omar's response came during an interview with Chris Hayes, host of MS NOW, the network formerly known as MSNBC. It was the first time Omar had spoken face-to-face with a journalist since federal agents searched her home in Washington on Oct. 12. Hayes asked her if there was any "“weird kernel of truth" to that story linking the Democrat to her brother.
In the same conversation, Omar called the accusation preposterous. Even so, her response to the direct question was not a resounding "no," but rather a phrasing that leaves room for doubt.
The New York Post, for example, described it as puzzling and noted that the lawmaker did not completely rule out the possibility of being related to Elmi.
According to Omar's account, it all started on a Somali blog and then spread among conservatives. "[They] went and like found random people who are like .. ‘She introduced him to us and said he was her brother,’ which is, you know, insane," she explained.
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<span>Omar also revealed what happened during the raid. She said that when she heard the pounding on the door, she thought it was a fire or an emergency evacuation. National Security Investigations agents searched the home room by room, and they took 17 items, including her phones, an old cell phone belonging to her daughter, her husband's notebooks, a camera and a Somali phrasebook. </span>She described the raid as invasive but polite, and even noted that the agents folded clothes she had left unfolded<span>, highlighting their professionalism.</span>
She also denied that a DNA sample was taken from her during the search: "I would have seen if they did take anything that had contained DNA." Her account contradicts what sources familiar with the case told the New York Post, according to whom prosecutors have DNA evidence, although it is unclear when or how they obtained it.
The congresswoman also portrayed herself as a working-class lawmaker who lives paycheck to paycheck. She said she owns a 2016 Toyota Camry and rents both her home in Washington and the one in Minneapolis. Her financial disclosures, however, showed a combined net worth of about $30 million, a figure she later attributed to an error and which is the subject of a separate investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
Omar, who claims to have become a citizen at age 17 through her father, denies all allegations. She said she will move out of the raided home due to the death threats she has been receiving and that she is confident that, at the end of the process, she will come out unscathed.
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