Records showed that Omar and her current husband, Ahmed Hirsi, filed joint returns in 2014 and 2015 despite not getting married until 2018. Omar was married to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who is allegedly her brother, until 2017.
An editor for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said Omar has been "unwilling to address" the marriage fraud allegations even after what the investigation uncovered came to light.
"What’s really made it hard is that she’s been unwilling to address any of these questions. That has fueled the controversy. 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 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," Diaz added.
"My interest as an editor began with the silence she has maintained about her improper tax filings. That got my attention," Diaz added to PolitiFact.
"She would say only that she had corrected the 2014 and 2015 tax filings and would not divulge anything about why she had filed taxes with a man she was not married to when she was separated but still married to someone else. It was a natural question: Who is Elmi and how does he fit into her life? We were not getting a lot of answers."
While the Star-Tribune said there wasn't enough evidence to conclude Omar committed marriage fraud, some reporters and researchers have said there is enough evidence.
Answering follow-up inquiries, Elmi responded that he "can’t stress enough how bizarre it feels to answer these questions.”