Smug Ilhan Omar berates reporter who asks if she’s connected to Somali fraud
Rep. Ilhan Omar dismissed allegations linking her to a major fraud scandal affecting Minnesota’s Somali community, mocking the accusations and criticizing a reporter who questioned her about the issue, according to a video she shared on Instagram.
The exchange followed a recent House Oversight Committee hearing examining a large-scale fraud scheme involving federal funds. When asked how she responded to claims that she may have been complicit, Omar rejected the premise outright.
“Why would there be an allegation that I’m complicit? How would I be complicit?” she said, before criticizing the reporter for asking the question.
The controversy comes amid increased scrutiny of Omar’s financial disclosures, which show a dramatic rise in her family’s net worth. According to those disclosures, her wealth increased from minimal assets to as much as $30 million within a single year. The timing has raised questions, as it coincides with the exposure of an estimated $9 billion fraud scheme involving organizations in her congressional district, as well as a sharp increase in the reported value of her husband’s venture capital firm, which has little publicly documented activity.
Omar pushed back strongly against the $9 billion figure, arguing it was implausible. “That is more than half of the resources that are allocated,” she said sarcastically, questioning how such a sum could have disappeared.
However, state financial data shows that Minnesota received approximately $23 billion in federal funding in 2025. Federal prosecutors have clarified that the $9 billion figure refers to potential fraud accumulated over nearly a decade, not a single year.
During the exchange, Omar repeatedly criticized the reporter, telling her to “please read” before walking away. When the reporter cited comments from House Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer (R-KY), who questioned how such a large amount of money could have gone missing, Omar dismissed his concerns and continued to belittle the reporter.
The investigation into the fraud scheme remains ongoing, with federal authorities continuing to examine how the funds were misused and who may be responsible.
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