THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- A deleted 2013 Father’s Day tweet referring to Ilhan Omar’s father as “Nur Said” has resurfaced amid a reported federal investigation into her immigration records.
- The name resembles that of Omar’s former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, whom critics have long alleged was her brother. Omar denies the allegation.
- Fox News reports that a court filing identifies Omar as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi,” while the congresswoman insists her name is Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been answering questions about her marriage history for years. Now an old Father’s Day greeting she deleted seven years ago is back in circulation, just as federal investigators are reportedly examining her identity and immigration records.
And this particular greeting has attracted attention for two words: “Nur Said.”
In June 2013, Omar posted a Father’s Day message on Twitter, now X, expressing gratitude for her father.
“Happy Father’s Day to my aabo Nur Said,” she wrote, using the Somali word for father, before thanking Allah for giving her the best dad.
Nothing particularly extraordinary about a daughter wishing her father a happy Father’s Day.
Except that the name she used resembles the name of her former husband: Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
And that marriage has been at the center of longstanding allegations that Omar married a relative to facilitate immigration benefits.
The allegation remains unproven, and Omar has repeatedly denied that Elmi is her brother.
The deleted message was first reported by the Daily Caller in September 2019. According to the outlet, Omar removed the post after questions about the name began circulating online.
At the time, her spokesperson reportedly explained that “Nur Said” was a childhood nickname used by her father and said the removal was connected to threats against the family.
Now, seven years later, the same message is attracting attention for an additional reason.
According to Fox News Digital, documents related to an October 12 search of Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence identify the congresswoman as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a.k.a. Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
That is a striking entry in a federal court document, particularly given the longstanding questions about her former marriage.
Fox reports that investigators are examining possible false statements involving Omar’s immigration and naturalization paperwork.
The court filing does not explain the basis for the alternative name, and Fox has not independently established that it is her legal identity.
Omar, for her part, wasn’t entertaining the suggestion when Fox News confronted her Friday.
“Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it,” she told the reporter when asked about her name.
She also denied that “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi” was her actual name.
But the paper trail surrounding her father’s name adds an interesting wrinkle.
When Omar’s father died in June 2020, the Congressional Black Caucus publicly identified him as Nur Omar Mohamed.
The congresswoman herself used that name in announcing his death from COVID-19 complications.
Yet the much older Father’s Day message addressed him as Nur Said.
Somali naming conventions often identify individuals through a sequence of their own given name, their father’s name and their grandfather’s name. That helps explain why critics have focused so intensely on the names appearing in Omar’s family history.
However, alternative names and nicknames are also possible, and the similarity alone does not settle the question of whether Omar and Elmi are related.
The controversy has become particularly heated since federal agents searched Omar’s residence earlier this month.
Omar has characterized that investigation as politically motivated and accused President Donald Trump of encouraging attacks against her.
During an October 21 interview with MS NOW’s Chris Hayes, she again denied marrying her brother or committing immigration fraud.
Asked whether her former husband might have been a distant relative, she replied, “Not to my knowledge.”
Her spokesperson subsequently told Fox News that Omar had repeatedly rejected what the office described as a baseless and disgusting conspiracy theory.
Fox also reported that two sources familiar with the investigation suggested the disputed name in the court filing could be Omar’s legal name. Her office disputes that characterization.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has not publicly explained the evidence underlying the investigation or announced a finding that Omar falsified her identity.
The timing of the resurfaced tweet is notable, however.
What was once an argument about a deleted social media post is now unfolding alongside questions about identification documents, a federal search warrant and a congresswoman’s public insistence that investigators have her name wrong.
There’s also a perfectly ordinary explanation that could resolve at least part of the naming dispute: A man can be known by more than one name.
But the precise basis for the alternative identity appearing in the court filing has not been publicly established.
And that leaves a series of questions about the documents investigators are reviewing, the identities recorded in those documents and whether prosecutors believe any discrepancies were deliberate.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- Fox News — Omar’s deleted Father’s Day tweet resurfaces amid federal investigation
- Daily Caller — Original 2019 reporting on Omar’s deleted Father’s Day post
- Congressional Black Caucus — Official 2020 statement identifying Omar’s father as Nur Omar Mohamed
- Associated Press via MPR News — Omar’s original statement following her father’s death
- New York Post — October 24 reporting on the resurfaced tweet and federal investigation
