Leftist congresswoman Ilhan Omar and her husband – the father of her three children – have split and are heading for their second divorce.
The bust-up comes just as critics are demanding answers as to whether she married her own brother in a successful bid to get him into the United States.
Omar has now dumped her current husband Ahmed Hirsi – who she first married in a religious ceremony in 2002 and divorced in 2008 – and moved into a penthouse apartment in one of Minneapolis’s trendiest neighborhoods.
But Hirsi is also spending time at the apartment, which is in the Mill District sector of Minnesota’s largest city when she is out of town.
Leftist congresswoman Ilhan Omar and her husband – the father of her three children – have split and are heading for their second divorce
Omar first married Hirsi in an Islamic ceremony in 2002 when she was 19, but six years later they ‘reached an impasse in our life together,’ and divorced. They reconciled in 2012, having their third and got married in 2018. Omar was married to another man during their separation
The former couple share three children together (l-r) Isra Hirsi, 16; Ilwad Hirsi, six, and Adnan Hirsi
The bust-up comes just as critics are demanding answers as to whether she married her own brother in a successful bid to get him into the United States. Pictured: Omar with Ahmed Hirsi (left) and second husband Elmi (right)
‘Wow,’ said Hirsi, when approached about the split outside the complex. ‘I can’t comment on that.
‘I’m sorry, I just can’t say anything,’ he added before driving off in his BMW car.
Omar did not return calls requesting comment from DailyMail.com by the deadline.
Hirsi, 39, had been seen leaving the $2,860-a-month home alone at 7:45 am and returning to drop off his mother and his younger daughter nearly three hours later.
‘He only goes there when Ilhan is in DC,’ one family friend told DailyMail.com. ‘When she’s in Minneapolis he sleeps at his house.’‘
Hirsi was noticeably absent when Omar returned to a hero’s welcome at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport last week after being attacked by President Donald Trump.
At the time, he was sitting morosely in a Starbucks coffee shop close to the now-overgrown home that he and Omar shared during their marriage, sources tell DailyMail.com.
Omar told supporters at the airport she would continue to be Trump’s ‘worst nightmare.’
‘His nightmare is seeing a Somali immigrant refugee rise to Congress,’ she said. ‘His nightmare is seeing the beautiful mosaic fabric of our country welcome someone like me as their member of Congress home to Minnesota.
‘He’s threatened because we are inspiring people to dream about a country that recognizes their dignity and humanity. We are going to continue to be a nightmare to this president because his policies are a nightmare to us.’
Hirsi was noticeably absent when Omar returned to a hero’s welcome at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport last week (pictured) after being attacked by President Donald Trump
‘Wow,’ said Hirsi (pictured), when approached about the split by DailyMail.com outside his wife’s apartment complex. ‘I can’t comment on that. I’m sorry, I just can’t say anything,’ he said before driving off in his BMW car
At the time of Omar’s airport arrival, her husband was sitting morosely in this Starbucks coffee shop close to the now-overgrown home that he and Omar shared during their marriage.
Critics have called on the House Ethics Committee to open a case against Omar, a Democrat who was elected from Minnesota’s Fifth District — which covers Minneapolis and a few suburbs — in November.
Republican Minnesota State Representative Steve Drazkowski and the right-wing group Judicial Watch have both called for the investigation.
Drazkowski told DailyMail.com that Omar may be ‘the most crooked politician in Minnesota history.
‘She seems to have a deep and pervasive disdain for the law which is ironic given the fact that she is a United States lawmaker,’ he added. ‘Marrying your brother is a violation of the law in Minnesota.
‘Ilhan Omar has already established a lengthy and extraordinary record of legal convictions and fines,’ he said, referring to a $500 fine she was levied for campaign finance violations on top of $3,500 in donations that she had to repay. ‘This is a record upon which a House Ethics Committee should begin its investigation.
‘But first, she needs to come forward and tell us the truth. She won’t even identify her own siblings at this stage.’
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said: ‘The evidence is overwhelming. Rep. Omar may have violated the law and House rules.
‘The House of Representatives must urgently investigate and resolve the serious allegations of wrongdoing.’
Fitton said she should be investigated for perjury, immigration fraud, marriage fraud, state and federal tax fraud and federal student loan fraud.
Omar has now moved into a penthouse apartment in one of Minneapolis’s trendiest neighborhoods, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively. The Intercom system at the building lists ‘Omar I’ (pictured) as a resident but has no mention of Hirsi
Hirsi had been seen leaving the $2,860-a-month home alone at 7:45 am and returning to drop off his mother and his younger daughter nearly three hours later. Pictured: Views of the apartment
Omar did not immediately return calls requesting comment
Omar lives in a three-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor complete with movable granite island, built-in wine rack and stainless steel pot racks in its high-end kitchen
The building boasts its own 14,000 sq. ft. private park and game area
The luxury building also has a sauna, indoor pool (pictured), hot tub and gym
Many members of the Somali community in Minneapolis have divided views about their new representative in Washington.
‘Obviously, we are proud that a Somali-American has been elected — but we just think it is the wrong Somali-American,’ one community leader told DailyMail.com.
The issue that divides her from her own community more than any is her support for gay rights, they say. She and her 16-year-old daughter, Isra Hirsi, both marched in the Minneapolis Pride Parade last month.
Omar, 36, won election to the House in November when she trounced her Republican opponent with 78 percent of the vote.
But ever since her victory she has been dogged by controversy, both over her political positions — especially criticism of Israel — and her complicated married life.
As one of ‘The Squad’ of four ultra-liberal women of color — along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — she has been frequently attacked by President Donald Trump, who said they should go back to where they came from, even though Omar is the only one born outside the United States.
‘There’s a lot of talk about the fact that she was married to her brother. I know nothing about it,’ Trump told reporters last month.
Omar left war-torn Somalia when she was 8. She lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for four years before coming to the United States and settling in Minneapolis, the largest hub for Somali refugees in the country.
She first married Hirsi in an Islamic ceremony in 2002 when she was 19. Six years later, after two children, the couple said they had ‘reached an impasse in our life together,’ and divorced.
The following year Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen, just two weeks after he entered the United States. He has been identified as her brother by many media outlets, though due to a lack of records in their war-torn country of birth that has not been proven.
Omar first married Hirsi in an Islamic ceremony in 2002 when she was 19. Six years later, after two children, the couple said they had ‘reached an impasse in our life together,’ and divorced. Pictured: A young Omar and Hirsi with their first child
Just this week, DailyMail.com traced Omar’s second husband Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, 34, (pictured) down to a beach resort in Mombasa, Kenya. In 2009, Omar married Elmi, a British citizen, just two weeks after he entered the US. He has been identified as her brother by many media outlets, but that has not been proven
Omar married her ‘brother’ at this undistinguished brick building which is home to a county office and public library
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote in June that it ‘could neither conclusively confirm nor rebut the allegation that (Elmi) is Omar’s sibling.’ Politifact and another myth-busting website, Snopes, came to similar conclusions.
On their marriage application, they gave their address as Columbia Heights, Minnesota, but were married 25 miles away in Eden Prairie at a nondescript single-story brick building that houses a county office and a library.
Despite both being Muslim, the ceremony was conducted by Wilecia Harris, a Christian minister. ‘If they had gone to an imam he would have almost certainly have known if they were related,’ one Somali leader in Minnesota said.
That marriage lasted just two years but it was enough to allow Elmi to study alongside his new wife at North Dakota State University.
Records suggest that Omar, Elmi, and Hirsi all lived together for at least part of that time.
When contacted by DailyMail.com at her home in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville, Harris refused to open the door and said through the glass that she would not comment on the ceremony.
Beyond saying the allegation that she had married her brother was ‘disgusting,’ Omar has refused to discuss the arrangement.
Just this week, DailyMail.com traced Elmi, 34, down to a beach resort in Mombasa, Kenya and photographed him soaking up the sun on the beach.
Omar then had a third child with Hirsi in 2012 and in 2015 she filed a joint tax return with him — even though she was still legally married to Elmi.
She finally divorced Elmi in 2017 and married Hirsi in a civil ceremony the following year.
Records suggest that Omar, Elmi, and Hirsi all lived together for at least part of that time. Omar then had a third child with Hirsi in 2012 and in 2015 she filed a joint tax return with him — even though she was still legally married to Elmi. She finally divorced Elmi in 2017 and married Hirsi in a civil ceremony the following year (pictured)
Now she has moved out of the family home and into her fourth-floor apartment. The Intercom system at the building lists ‘Omar I’ as a resident but has no mention of Hirsi.
The building boasts its own 14,000 sq. ft. private park, sauna, indoor pool. hot tub and gym. Omar lives in a three-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor complete with movable granite island, built-in wine rack and stainless steel pot racks in its high-end kitchen.
Omar has consistently refused to talk in detail about her marriage to Elmi or her tax filings, leading the politics editor of her hometown newspaper to attack her for her silence.
‘What’s really made it hard is that she’s been unwilling to address any of these questions,’ Kevin Diaz of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune told Politifact. ‘That has fueled the controversy.’
Diaz added: ‘We quoted her at length to say that these were mere accusations, that they were unfair and that she shouldn’t have to address them.
‘Be that as it may, there was an undisputed instance of her filing her taxes improperly — and if you’re in Congress you should explain that to your constituents.’
Even her own staff have become angered by her lack of candor, The Spectator discovered an email written by Omar’s campaign manager Ben Goldfarb in which he described his frustration that she would not address the issue head-on.
Goldfarb said he thought ‘we are probably in a position where giving real background is helpful in tying this up.’
He added: ‘That said, having now tried to write a statement multiple times that says ”I’m not legally married to two people but I am legally married to one and culturally married to another.” I think it’s impossible without making it even more confusing. It just doesn’t work in writing.’
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