As reported on Instagram
A Justice Department court filing in Washington has put a different name at the top of the federal case involving Rep. Ilhan Omar. The government's motion, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, identifies the subject of a sealed search warrant as "Congresswoman Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar" — placing the surname of her former husband first and the name the Minnesota Democrat is known by second, as an alias.
The filing came as prosecutors asked Chief Judge James Boasberg for more time to respond to requests to unseal the warrant records. The government told the court the search warrant has not yet been "fully executed," proposed updating the court within 30 days after execution is completed, and alternatively asked to answer all three unsealing applications by November 9 — a date that falls after the November 3 midterm elections. Neither timeline the government proposed would release the documents before Election Day.
The warrant at the center of the fight was carried out on October 12, when Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar's Washington-area residence before dawn under a warrant secured by the Justice Department. A department spokesperson confirmed at the time that the action was part of an ongoing federal investigation. Fox News Digital, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that the inquiry involves immigration paperwork completed by Omar's late father when she was a child; other reporting says investigators are examining whether an inaccurate birth date allowed Omar to derive American citizenship through her father when he was naturalized in 2000. Omar, who was born in Somalia, arrived in the United States as a refugee in 1995 and became a citizen in 2000.
The name in the filing drew immediate attention because "Elmi" is the surname of Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the man Omar legally married in 2009 and divorced in 2017. Critics have alleged for years that he is her brother and that the marriage was a vehicle for immigration fraud — an allegation Omar has repeatedly denied. The filing itself does not say the two are siblings, does not explain why prosecutors used the Elmi name, and contains no finding of fraud; "a/k/a" is the standard legal shorthand for "also known as," and Omar has previously acknowledged using a married name from that marriage. Some commentators nonetheless argued the wording suggests the government believes she is in the country under a false identity — an interpretation the document does not state.
The unsealing requests were filed on October 15 by fourteen news organizations, including the Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post and CNN, with The New York Times Company and Judicial Watch filing separate applications. The news organizations argued that the public has a constitutional interest in understanding why federal agents searched the home of a sitting member of Congress, and asked for the warrant, its supporting affidavits, the sealing orders and the inventory of anything seized.
Omar has denied wrongdoing and described the search as political targeting and a weaponization of federal law enforcement. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar issued a joint statement on the day of the search calling it deeply disturbing. Omar, who is seeking re-election on November 3, has not been charged with any crime, and the specific allegations investigators are pursuing have not been publicly disclosed.