Prosecutors brand Ilhan Omar with startling new name as DOJ fights to keep fraud probe secret

A new name for Ilhan Omar has been revealed in a Justice Department filing.

The Minnesota congresswoman was identified as ‘Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar’ in a court document filed reported by Fox News on Wednesday.

The reference has renewed attention on longstanding allegations surrounding Omar’s first marriage and immigration history.

The filing emerged as US Attorney Jeanine Pirro moved to prevent the search warrant for Omar’s Washington, DC, home from being made public.

Pirro filed a motion on Wednesday asking a federal judge to keep the warrant sealed after several media organizations requested access to the records.

Her office argued that the government was not yet finished executing the warrant.

The filing doesn’t explain why prosecutors used the name or establish that Omar has committed any wrongdoing.

Fox News has separately reported, citing people familiar with the investigation, that investigators believe ‘Ilhan Nur Said Elmi’ is her real name.

The legal fight comes after federal agents searched Omar’s home in a federal raid on October 12 as part of an ongoing investigation involving possible fraud connected to her family’s immigration paperwork.

Speaking to MS NOW’s Chris Hayes on Wednesday, Omar said agents seized two of her phones, her youngest daughter’s phone and notebooks belonging to her husband, Tim Mynett.

They also took a vintage camera that had belonged to Mynett’s uncle, who served in the Navy, as well as a children’s book designed to help people learn Somali that her husband had received as a gift.

Omar said the agents spent four to five hours searching the property and took 17 items in total.

She described the agents as having ‘mostly conducted themselves in a decent way’ and said they did a good job of putting everything back in its place.

The name in the latest filing has also revived scrutiny of Omar’s 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.

Conservative critics have alleged that Elmi was Omar’s brother and that the marriage was arranged to help him obtain US immigration status.

Omar has repeatedly denied the allegations, and the latest filing does not establish that they are true.

Citing sources familiar with the probe, the New York Post reported on October 19 that authorities are examining whether Omar’s 2009 marriage to Elmi was fraudulent and whether the two were siblings.

The DNA evidence is among several lines of inquiry being pursued by investigators, alongside whistleblower accounts and government records.

No DNA results have been made public, and the allegations have not been proven in court. 

Omar became a US citizen in 2000 as a teenager through her father’s naturalization.

Investigators are reportedly examining questions about information contained in immigration documents relating to Omar and her family.

Omar has accused President Trump’s administration of politically targeting her, arguing that the investigation is an attempt to intimidate one of his most vocal critics.

Her lawyers have challenged the search and demanded the return of seized property, alleging that authorities exceeded the limits of the warrant.

The Justice Department has disputed claims that officials violated court orders.

The controversy has also unfolded amid scrutiny of Omar’s financial disclosures and her household’s reported assets.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Omar’s office for comment.