Political tension around Rep. Ilhan Omar is getting louder, and the latest crack comes from inside her own party. A former Minnesota Democratic state representative is saying the federal probe has enough weight to be taken seriously, even as Omar and her allies keep calling it a smear.
A prominent Minnesota Democrat who once served in the state House said Thursday that the investigation into Omar does not look made up. Joe Radinovich argued that Democrats should not brush off the allegations out of hand, especially when the accusations involve both her immigration history and her finances.
“Democrats should understand that the allegation is almost certainly true—whatever conclusion they draw from that point could vary—and her denials calling it a right-wing, Islamophobic or racist conspiracy are almost certainly not,” Joe Radinovich in reference to the claims that Omar married her brother as part of an alleged fraudulent immigration scheme.
Radinovich also warned that the financial side of the case could create even more problems for the congresswoman. He said public answers have been thin, and that anyone taking an honest look at the evidence would have a hard time feeling confident about her defense.
“And then I’d be very, very careful about how I qualified on allegations around her finances—where her defense looks similar and where no meaningful questions have been answered publicly, and where any objective look at the evidence doesn’t look…great,” the former state representative said.
That stance matters because Radinovich is not some outsider tossing rocks from the sidelines. He has deep ties to Minnesota Democratic politics, including work on Rick Nolan’s 2016 congressional campaign, Jacob Frey’s successful mayoral run, and a later stint as Frey’s chief of staff.
https://x.com/joeradinovich/status/2115793674118529180?a=SeejGFvxxjdcEI0xzbc&s=20
He even won the DFL nomination in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District in 2018 before losing to Republican Pete Stauber. More recently, he was involved in Democratic primary efforts against Omar, including campaigns for Don Samuels in 2022 and 2024.
The reaction from Omar’s orbit came fast and sharp. Briana Rose Lee, a Minneapolis DFL activist who worked as an operations director for Omar’s campaign, blasted Radinovich’s post and called it a witch hunt.
“Joe. You aren’t stupid,” she wrote. “You know this is a baseless and manufactured witch hunt. I’m actually surprised to see this from you. It’s a new low.”
Radinovich did not back away. He answered that he was, in fact, not confused about what he was saying, and he made clear that he believed the underlying allegation is likely true even if he distrusts the Trump Justice Department.
“You’re right,” Radinovich wrote. “I’m not stupid. I believe the Trump DOJ has next to no credibility and that it’s unclear to me the timing of the raid was appropriate—though it’s notable a DC judge signed off on it—but I’m pretty confident this specific allegation is true.”
His comments land at a moment when the scrutiny around Omar is no longer confined to partisan corners. Even outlets like the New York Times, MSNBC, NBC News and The Associated Press have reported on evidence tied to questions about her marriage and citizenship, though no criminal charges have been filed.
The pressure ramped up after Homeland Security Investigations raided Omar’s Washington home on Oct. 12, 2026. Investigators seized her passport, phone and computer during the early-morning operation, and Fox News later reported that authorities also had her DNA.
Sources said the raid was tied to whether Omar or her late father, Nur Mohamed, fraudulently filled out her citizenship paperwork years ago. According to those sources, the inquiry could lead to denaturalization, a prospect that has only intensified the political heat around the case.
The marriage issue has also hung over Omar for years. Questions about whether she married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in a fraudulent immigration setup have followed her since she first sought higher office, and the accusation has never really gone away.
Court filings from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia referred to her as “Ilhan Omar Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Omar,” which only fueled more speculation. Omar’s office has repeatedly rejected the claim, calling it a right-wing attack and, more recently, a political vendetta pushed by President Donald Trump.
Even so, Fox News Digital confirmed that the Obama administration opened a probe into the alleged marriage in 2016. One source said that investigation remained open until 2021, when the Biden administration shut it down, with The Times later reporting that investigators believed the statute of limitations had expired.
Omar’s campaign fired back at Radinovich in a statement to Fox News Digital, dismissing him as bitter and politically damaged. The campaign called his claims false and said he had turned into a tool for Republican and corporate money after losing two campaigns against her.
The back-and-forth has left Democratic allies scrambling to keep the story contained while the accusations keep resurfacing in public. Radinovich’s decision to say the quiet part out loud gave the whole fight a new jolt, and it showed just how shaky the usual protective wall around Omar has become.
