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Representative Ilhan Omar denounced the Department of Justice (DOJ) as "corrupt" on Friday while dismissing an ongoing federal immigration probe as partisan politics.
Omar, a Democrat running for reelection in Minnesota, criticized President Donald Trump and DOJ officials a day after he called for the lawmaker to resign from Congress in the wake of federal court filings identifying her as Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.
"The pedophile protection party’s president is laundering right-wing conspiracy theories through the most corrupt DOJ in American history," Omar wrote on X. "Whenever the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar. Maybe you should focus on what your VP’s real name is."
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In a post on Truth Social late Thursday, Trump called on Omar to resign, citing allegations the lawmaker previously lied about her identity.
"It was just revealed that Ilhan Omar’s name is not Ilhan Omar, the one she used to get elected and sworn into Congress, but rather, it’s an entirely different name, Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, and that her last name is, incredibly, also the exact name of her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the person they said she married and had children with," Trump wrote.
Trump had also seized on the allegation while speaking at a rally in Iowa on Thursday.
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"It was just revealed just a little while ago that ... her name is not Ilhan Omar, the one that she used to get elected and sworn into Congress," Trump told supporters. "She used a fake name to be sworn in. I assume she must immediately have to resign from Congress."
He later declared: “The Republicans have just picked up a seat in the House.”
A federal court filing submitted Wednesday obtained by Newsweek refers to the congresswoman as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar." The filing by the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro concerns efforts to keep materials sealed in relation to the federal search warrant for Omar's Washington home.
Federal investigators have not contacted Omar since the raid, the congresswoman told reporters on Friday.
"My name is Ilhan Abdullahi Omar," she said when asked about the federal filing.
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Trump's claim that Omar used a fraudulent name to take her congressional oath has not been established. The president said Elmi is the surname of Omar's former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who critics have alleged for years to be her brother. Omar has repeatedly denied the allegation.
"She’s been a scammer for a long time. I’m pretty good at watching that stuff, and she comes from a non-country, basically. Somalia has no government, has no nothing. ... All they do is run around shooting each other. Then she comes over here. The Constitution gives me absolute right to freedom of speech," Trump told the crowd in Iowa.
Omar's office has strongly disputed the reporting.
"This is completely false," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Ilhan Omar is her real name."
Omar, meanwhile, addressed the marriage allegation during an interview with MS NOW's Chris Hayes on Wednesday. The congresswoman traced the rumor to a Somali blog post later embraced by right-wing conspiracy theorists citing "random people" who claimed she had introduced them to Elmi.
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Ilhan Omar Addresses Brother Marriage Claims After DOJ Raid, Death Threats
"They just kind of went and found random people who were like, 'She introduced us. She introduced him to us and said he was her brother,' which is, you know, insane," Omar said. "I mean, I don't know those people that they talk about."
Asked flatly whether she was related to Elmi, Omar replied: "Not to my knowledge."
What Is JD Vance's Real Name?
Vice President JD Vance's legal name is James David Vance, but he has had multiple names over his life.
He was born James Donald Bowman on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio. After his mother remarried and he was adopted by his stepfather, Robert Hamel, his name was changed to James David Hamel, keeping the initials "J.D."
Vance used the name James David Hamel throughout much of his early life, including when he graduated from high school, served in the Marine Corps and attended Ohio State University.
Before graduating from Yale Law School in 2013, he legally changed his surname to Vance in honor of his grandmother, Bonnie Vance, who helped raise him and whom he credited as a major influence in his life.
He published his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy in 2016 under the name J.D. Vance. He discussed his family history and name changes in the book. When he entered politics in 2021, he dropped the periods in favor of his current JD Vance.
Omar Camp Calls Accusation a 'Desperate 'Smear' Designed to Distract
Omar's spokesperson has called the allegation a “desperate smear” intended to distract from Trump and Republican governance while chiding media outlets for continuing to "give this lie oxygen."
Federal investigators have obtained a sample of Omar's DNA amid the ongoing probe, a source close to the matter told Newsweek on Tuesday.
Omar's sister, Sahra Noor, also voluntarily spoke to investigators following last week's raid, the source added.
Omar, who represents Minnesota's 5th District, including Minneapolis, was elected to the House in 2018. She is heavily favored to retain her seat in a race against Republican challenger John Nagel, Kalshi data shows.
Elsewhere in Minnesota, Republicans are mounting an unexpectedly competitive challenge for the state’s open Senate seat, raising the possibility of an upset in a state where GOP candidates have not won a Senate election for nearly a quarter-century.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan political forecasting outlet, shifted the contest between Democratic Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and Republican former broadcaster Michele Tafoya from Likely Democratic to Leans Democratic on Wednesday.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins
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