Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was found by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Thursday to have committed several campaign finance violations — and its findings have revived old questions about the legality of her marriage.
In July 2018, Minnesota State Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) filed a complaint with the board against the Neighbors for Ilhan (Omar) campaign committee, which had supported her campaign for state representative. He claimed that she had improperly spent campaign funds on legal work related to her divorce. He later filed additional complaints that she had improperly spent campaign funds on out-of-state travel.
The board’s investigation into Omar found several violations. It noted that while none of Omar’s legal expenses had been for her divorce, she had spent $1,500 on legal expenses related to her personal taxes that were not sufficiently related to the campaign. Furthermore, the board found that some of her out-of-state travel expenses were not related to her legislative duties. She has been ordered to pay reimbursements to her campaign, to file amended campaign finance statements, and to pay a civil fine of $500 to the state.
The board’s report also noted that Omar and Ahmed Hirsi, her current husband, “filed joint tax returns for 2014 and 2015.” That could add fuel to persistent allegations that Omar had been married to two men at the same time — one of whom, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, City Journal noted in 2016, was rumored (though never proven) to be her brother.
Nolan Wells’ friends cleared by grand jury as their lawyers vow to hold online accusers accountable
‘American Idol’ contestant’s murder case sent cops underground with high-powered magnet to find gun
El-Sayed Is Delighted to Have Tucker Carlson’s Support: ‘MAGA Eating Itself’
The UK’s Most Prominent Lib Outlet Keeps Trying to Make the Phrase ‘Petro-Masculinity’ Happen, Publishes Yet Another Article About Fake Climate Trend
Pentagon unveils battlefield test to ensure new generals are warfighters – not Washington bureaucrats
Fox News Power Rankings: For the Democrats, where could it possibly go wrong?
El-Sayed’s Jewish outreach ignites ‘tokenism’ fury as Michigan GOP chair makes bold prediction
Outgoing House Democrat backs incumbent Republican lawmaker for re-election
Democrats paper over transgender voting records with pivot on girls’ sports
Four most notable state dinner incidents
Vance’s midterm message: Don’t elect ‘crazy people’ responsible for higher prices
Hope: Remember How the 2018 Blue Wave Fizzled? Turns Out Dems’ 2026 Numbers Aren’t Even Half What They Were Then
Mamdani tells Trump banned White House outlets are welcome at NYC meeting
Maryland hunter’s alleged mistake leaves Delaware mother dead
Deer Hunter Arrested and Charged with Manslaughter After Fatal Mistake
Omar issued a statement in 2016 denying the allegations:
In 2002, when I was 19 years old, Ahmed Hirsi (whose name before he received citizenship was Ahmed Aden), the father of my children and love of my life, and I, applied for a marriage license, but we never finalized the application and thus were never legally married. In 2008, we decided to end our relationship in our faith tradition after reaching an impasse in our life together.
I entered into a relationship with a British citizen, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, and married him legally in 2009. Our relationship ended in 2011 and we divorced in our faith tradition. After that, he moved home to England. I have yet to legally divorce Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, but am in the process of doing so. Insinuations that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is my brother are absurd and offensive.
Nolan Wells’ friends cleared by grand jury as their lawyers vow to hold online accusers accountable
‘American Idol’ contestant’s murder case sent cops underground with high-powered magnet to find gun
El-Sayed Is Delighted to Have Tucker Carlson’s Support: ‘MAGA Eating Itself’
The UK’s Most Prominent Lib Outlet Keeps Trying to Make the Phrase ‘Petro-Masculinity’ Happen, Publishes Yet Another Article About Fake Climate Trend
Pentagon unveils battlefield test to ensure new generals are warfighters – not Washington bureaucrats
Fox News Power Rankings: For the Democrats, where could it possibly go wrong?
El-Sayed’s Jewish outreach ignites ‘tokenism’ fury as Michigan GOP chair makes bold prediction
Outgoing House Democrat backs incumbent Republican lawmaker for re-election
Democrats paper over transgender voting records with pivot on girls’ sports
Four most notable state dinner incidents
Vance’s midterm message: Don’t elect ‘crazy people’ responsible for higher prices
Hope: Remember How the 2018 Blue Wave Fizzled? Turns Out Dems’ 2026 Numbers Aren’t Even Half What They Were Then
Mamdani tells Trump banned White House outlets are welcome at NYC meeting
Maryland hunter’s alleged mistake leaves Delaware mother dead
Deer Hunter Arrested and Charged with Manslaughter After Fatal Mistake
Since 2011, I am happy to say that I have reconciled with Ahmed Hirsi, we have married in our faith tradition and are raising our family together.
The rumors persisted into the 2018 election, when Omar was elected to Congress. She told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the stories had been written by “fake journalists on bigoted blogs.”
The campaign finance board’s report notes that Omar filed joint tax returns with Hirsi. But by her own admission in 2016, she was not yet legally divorced from Elmi. There is no legal basis for a joint filing by an unmarried couple.
In a statement, Drozkowski noted that the campaign finance board’s findings had found Omar violated campaign finance law and noted that the report “raises even more troubling questions.”
