After Shaming Conservatives for ‘Seizing’ on ‘Rumors,’ NYT Finally Concedes Ilhan Omar (Probably) Married Her Brother
The New York Times reported that the Obama governance “found evidence suggesting” Rep. Ilhan Omar may have committed immigration fraud by marrying her brother.According to the Times, federal agents opened an inquiry in 2016 and had reason to believe Omar and Ahmed Nur Said Elmi-who received a provisional green card after their 2009 marriage-were siblings. Prosecutors did not pursue charges because the potential offense fell outside the statute of limitations.
The paper acknowledged that “several aspects” of Omar’s marriage have long been unclear. One odd detail: the marriage certificate was signed by a christian minister, not a Muslim imam-something neither Omar nor the minister, Wilecia Harris, has publicly explained.
That admission contrasts with past Times coverage that defended Omar. After her 2018 election, the Times ran a flattering profile portraying her as a bullied Muslim refugee and said scrutiny of her private life had become “fodder for conservative bloggers” who focused on her brief marriage to a British citizen. In 2019 the Times published a fact-check of President Trump’s claims about Omar, including the brother-marriage allegation, saying rumors had circulated since 2016 but “no proof has emerged substantiating these claims.”
Those earlier pieces relied heavily on Omar’s denials and on an Associated Press fact-check that,despite reviewing marriage records,did not mention the unusual signature by a Christian minister.The new reporting suggests the earlier absence of “proof” may have reflected mainstream media’s lack of interest in investigating the matter more deeply.
The report also notes Omar’s alleged brother left the U.S. around 2012 after immigration authorities began asking questions about the marriage; he is reportedly now a doctoral student in the U.K., writing a thesis on Kenya’s LGBT community.
Times readers understandably shocked to learn that details surrounding Omar’s marriage ‘have long been murky’
The Obama administration “found evidence suggesting” that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) committed immigration fraud by marrying her brother, the New York Times revealed on Thursday.
Imagine that!
Federal agents opened an investigation in 2016, the Times reported, and found reason to believe that Omar and Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who obtained a provisional green card following their marriage in 2009, were siblings. Prosecutors declined to pursue the matter because the alleged crime—federal marriage fraud—fell outside the statute of limitations.
In a dramatic reversal based on the Times‘s past coverage of allegations, the esteemed publication conceded that “Several aspects of [Omar’s] marriage to Mr. Elmi have long been murky.” For example, the happy couple’s marriage certificate was signed by a Christian minister rather than a Muslim imam—a curious detail that neither Omar nor the minister, Wilecia Harris, has publicly explained.
This will no doubt come as a shock to loyal Times readers, who were repeatedly assured that Omar did nothing wrong. Following her election to Congress in 2018, the Times ran a glowing profile casting Omar as a bullied Muslim refugee with a “soft voice,” “delicate features,” and a “uniquely American” life story who has come to regard her adopted country as a cesspool of racist cruelty. Running for office, the Times lamented, had “forced Ms. Omar to make public details about her complicated private life, which became fodder for conservative bloggers, who seized on her brief marriage to a British citizen.”
Months later, the Times published what it claimed was a “fact check” of President Donald Trump’s numerous “attacks” on the historic Muslim congresswoman, including the allegation that she married her brother. “Rumors … have been circulating since 2016,” the Times explained. “No proof has emerged substantiating these claims.”
The lazy and dismissive fact check, which relied almost exclusively on Omar’s public denials, declined to acknowledge any “murky” aspects of the marriage. It included multiple links to an equally dismissive Associated Press fact check based on some actual reporting. Despite reviewing Omar’s marriage records, the AP declined to mention the bizarre detail about the Christian minister’s signature. Neither did the Times, obviously.
Until 2026, when the Times proved that even journalists are capable of doing their jobs checking their own facts and pursuing stories under the assumption that politicians—even Democrats—are capable of lying. It’s almost as if the absence of “proof” in this case was directly related to mainstream media’s complete lack of interest in finding it.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: Omar’s brother, who fled the country around 2012 after immigration officials started asking questions about his marriage, is currently a doctoral student in the United Kingdom “writing a thesis about Kenya’s L.G.B.T. community.”
READ MORE: Yes, Ilhan Omar Married Her Brother
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