Investigation into Ilhan Omar's marriage dates back to the Obama administration, says report cited by Fox Business

The FBI and the United States Department of Homeland Security investigated the marriage of Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota in the summer of 2016, during the Barack Obama administration. The information is from the New York Times, cited by presenter Martha MacCallum on Fox Business. According to the report, current and former authorities say that investigators found evidence that the union was fraudulent, but did not detail what the evidence was.

Omar denies the accusations. Through a spokeswoman, the deputy called the case an unfounded and disgusting conspiracy theory, according to the presenter. She also mentioned that, at the time, investigators had concluded that the statute of limitations had already run out for a serious crime charge. So far, the transcript does not mention any formal accusations.

The presenter also commented on Obama's stance. The former president published last week about the new investigation, but, according to her, he only mentioned doubts about Omar's age. In MacCallum's assessment, the full weight of the federal government was being used against an elected official who respects the law, for having criticized the president. It is the presenter's opinion, not an established fact.

The timeline, according to former FBI agent

The guest was former FBI supervisory agent James Gagliano, now retired. He summarized the chronology: Omar arrived in the US in 1995, with his father, who was a colonel in the Somali army. The US had severed relations with Somalia in 1991. She became naturalized in 2000 and married in 2009.

According to Gagliano, the delicate point is the possible crime of age and identity fraud and marriage fraud. He said these crimes usually have a five-year statute of limitations. As the wedding was in 2009 and the investigation took place in 2016, seven years had already passed, and the Obama administration would have backed down.

Documents signed and search of the apartment

MacCallum asked whether the current investigation is examining whether Omar continued to sign documents that attested to possibly false information, which would extend the statute of limitations. Gagliano responded that she is "one hundred percent right."

The former agent said the Department of Homeland Security served a search warrant on Omar's Washington residence on Oct. 12, about 17 or 18 days before the interview. Personal electronic devices were taken, such as cell phones, laptops and tablets, as well as notebooks and passports.

For Gagliano, two points will be decisive: conversations from the time when she acknowledged knowing about the fraud and the possible comparison of genetic material between Omar and her supposed brother. He stated that the congresswoman vehemently denies that agents took anything with her DNA, but that material discarded outside the home, such as a coffee cup, does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. According to him, the comparison would be made on genealogical bases or in CODIS, the FBI's DNA system.

What to watch out for

The video does not deal with the stock market, interest, dollars or public accounts, and there is no announcement of a formal complaint. For those who follow the market, the episode is, for now, a political and legal development. What is worth monitoring are the next steps: whether the Department of Justice will file charges, how Omar's defense will respond and whether the thesis of extending the statute of limitations will stand up in court.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.