Rep. Ilhan Omar is standing by “her truth.”
She continues to deny the “disgusting and absurd” allegation that she married her brother. And, of course, there’s the familiar refrain: It’s all “politically motivated.”
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Omar is a pro’s pro on the denial campaign trail. She’s barely broken a sweat — or cracked that frozen smile — as her fiercest critics watch — gobsmacked by her reaction to the stunning pronouncement by Homeland Security secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Mullin asserted at the GOP convention that the allegation (of a fake marriage) was true (on Sept. 10). “Something is going to happen,” he said, referring to a criminal investigation underway. “We know that she married her brother to try to bring him into the United States. We know he lives now in London.”
Omar’s reaction was classically her: “I don’t really worry about it,” she told reporters swarming around her shortly after the announcement. The embattled representative characterized the allegation as “something the right wing has always had.”
It’s a good thing Omar has learned to outpace reporters in the halls of government. She certainly didn’t want to stop and answer questions about Mullin’s specific claims — particularly his suggestion that the investigation could cast a wider net, potentially involving other family members and possible illegal immigration activity.
Mullin delivered an ominous warning that raised the stakes considerably. One would think Omar would be even a little curious about what he was suggesting — particularly when he made the charge in the very public arena of the GOP convention?
“There may be more to this — the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.”
The back-and-forth over Omar and the allegations surrounding her family’s immigration history seems to add yet another installment to a political soap opera — now stretching into its 10th year.
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Omar has doubled down on her denials, taking on increasingly prominent administration figures. In May, after Vice President J.D. Vance publicly claimed the Justice Department was investigating her, Omar fired back: “That is not something that is happening. That man is delusional.” She went even further: “Because there’s nothing to investigate.”
Then came Border Czar Tom Homan’s September confirmation that DHS was conducting what he called an “ongoing criminal investigation.” She reverted to her strategy of denying, deflecting, and pointing the finger anywhere but at herself. When Fox News Digital asked whether DHS had contacted her, she answered: “No, they have not.” And recycled the assertion it was a “right-wing” attack.
There was one moment when Omar appeared to lose the thread of her ongoing denials. Asked about her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, she offered a linguistic pirouette:
“It’s really strange, right, to try to prove a negative… If someone was asking me, do I have a brother by that name, I don’t.” But why dance around the question? Wouldn’t it have been simpler to say: “He’s not my brother.” Or even offer just one plain sentence: “I do not have a brother named Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.”
Such a slippery linguistic slope is a perfect match for Omar’s remarkable ability to rise above the scrutiny of scandal. She has done an exemplary job brushing off allegations surrounding the raiding of public funds in her state (shh: much of it involving members of the Somali community).
And now she rises to the occasion again, attempting to extricate herself from the tangled web of immigration allegations with her familiar escape tactics: blame conservatives, ignore the reality of allegations, and swat away pesky reporters like gnats worthy only of windshield contact.
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Image: Gage Skidmore