
WASHINGTON — 联邦检察官计划利用DNA证据试图证明众议员伊尔汗·奥马(D-Minn.)涉嫌犯有移民欺诈,此举是针对该名议员涉嫌的巨大调查的一部分,消息人士告诉《华盛顿邮报》。
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are planning to use DNA evidence to try to prove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) committed immigration fraud, as part of the sprawling investigation into the congresswoman, sources told The Post.
熟悉该长期刑事调查的相关人士表示,联邦当局利用了举报人、政府记录,以及最近获得的DNA证据,试图证实十余年旧的指控,称奥马——甚至可能包括其家人如其父亲——欺诈了移民当局。
People familiar with the years-long criminal probe said the feds have made use of whistleblowers, government records and now obtained DNA in an effort to substantiate decade-old allegations that Omar — and possibly members of her family like her father — defrauded immigration authorities.
一位消息人士表示,DNA证据对于证明奥马在2009年与阿赫梅德·努尔·赛义德·艾尔米(Ahmed Nur Said Elmi)结婚的指控至关重要,她当时试图帮助其获得绿卡——但此举从未实现。
One source said the DNA evidence was critical to proving an allegation that Omar married her brother when she wed Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 because she was trying to help him get a green card — which never came to fruition.
据称,DNA证据是在美国司法部调查局(HSI)上周一搜查该议员在华盛顿特区的住宅后,从该住宅中取出的“被没收财产证据”箱中获得的。另一位消息人士驳斥了此前报道称调查人员“翻箱倒柜”以获取奥马、艾尔米——目前居住在英国——或其家人DNA拭子的说法。
It’s unclear whether the DNA was taken before or after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) searched the congresswoman’s home in Washington, DC, last Monday, when federal agents were seen exiting the bungalow with boxes marked “Seized Property Evidence.”Another source pushed back on initial reports that investigators had gone “dumpster diving” in order to get DNA swabs of Omar, Elmi, who is currently residing in the UK, or family members.
另外两位消息人士指出,10月12日执行的搜查令,加上DNA证据及其他材料,已为在大陪审团面前提出指控提供了充分依据,涉及阴谋实施移民欺诈的行为,该调查由明尼苏达州美国检察官办公室发起。
Two more indicated that the execution of the search warrant on Oct. 12, coupled with the DNA and additional evidence, has provided a solid basis to bring charges of conspiracy to commit some form of immigration fraud before a grand jury, stemming from the probe initiated by the Minnesota US Attorney’s Office.
鉴于此案以一般阴谋罪名进行起诉,即使部分行为已超出时效期限,相关证据仍将发挥重要作用。
Given the case is being pursued as a general conspiracy, the evidence will prove useful even if some of the acts fall outside of the statute of limitations.
“如果你主张阴谋,你可以指控在阴谋进程中进行的先发性行为,即使这些行为已超出时效期限,”前联邦检察官内玛·拉赫敏(Neama Rahmini)说道。
“If you argue a conspiracy, you can allege overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy that are outside the statute of limitations,” said Neama Rahmini, a former federal prosecutor.
华盛顿特区美国检察官珍妮·皮罗也在调查与该众议员财务相关的问题 — — 包括众议院披露文件中的条目,这些条目导致奥马尔在过去一年里因一项未解释的会计“差异”而将其净资产虚报了数千万美元。
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is also investigating issues related to the congresswoman’s finances — including entries in House disclosures that resulted in Omar deflating her net worth by tens of millions of dollars in the last year due to an unexplained accounting “discrepancy.”
“除非存在可能原因,否则那位法官不会签署该搜查令,”皮罗对福克斯新闻表示。“如果确实发生了犯罪行为,将会被起诉。”DNA证据最终可能证实一项在明尼苏达州和华盛顿特区政界流传了十余年的指控。自2016年她首次以州议员身份参选以来,奥马尔一再否认有关所谓兄弟姐妹婚姻的传言。
“That judge would not have signed that warrant unless there was probable cause,” Pirro told Fox News. “If there was a crime committed, it will be prosecuted.”The DNA evidence could finally prove an allegation that has percolated in Minnesota and DC political circles for more than a decade. Omar has repeatedly denied any accusations of the rumored sibling marriage since 2016, when she was first running for office as a state representative.
据《华盛顿邮报》报道,埃米在2017年与奥马尔离婚后,据称于2019年申请了基于婚姻的绿卡,但在美国公民及移民服务局要求提供其与奥马尔婚姻的额外证据后,又撤回了该申请。
Elmi, who divorced from Omar in 2017, reportedly applied and then withdrew his application for a marriage-based green card in 2019, when US Citizenship and Immigration Services asked for additional evidence about his marriage to her, according to The Washington Post.
特朗普总统的边境事务沙皇汤姆·霍曼周末表示,联邦当局已经构建了“一个有力的案例”,这可能导致特朗普政府寻求撤销奥马尔的美国国籍。奥马尔自1995年其家人从战乱的索马里移民以来一直居住在美国。
President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said over the weekend that the feds have built “a strong case” that could result in the Trump administration seeking to denaturalize Omar, who has lived in the US since her family emigrated from war-torn Somalia in 1995.
此前,消息人士称,该移民欺诈案涉及奥马尔或其父努尔·奥马尔·穆罕默德,据称他们虚报了这位未来国会议员的出生日期,以便在其父亲于2000年入籍时让她成为美国公民。
Previously, sources said that the immigration fraud pertained to either Omar or her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, allegedly misrepresenting the future congresswoman’s birth date so that she could become a US citizen when her dad naturalized in 2000.
法律专家指出,在移民文件上提供虚假信息的诉讼时效比婚姻欺诈更长。
Legal experts have noted the statute of limitations is lengthier for providing false information on immigration paperwork than for fraudulently marrying someone.
婚姻欺诈定罪也不会以同样的方式危及奥马尔的自身国籍,而涉及虚假陈述的案件则可能构成威胁 — — 这是一些政府官员的明确目标,如果所谓的不准确信息在护照续签表或其他官方政府文件中重复出现,这一目标就可能得以实现。
A marriage fraud conviction also wouldn’t jeopardize Omar’s own citizenship in the same way as a case involving false statements, a stated goal of some administration officials and one that could be proven if the alleged inaccuracies were repeated on passport renewal forms or other official government paperwork.
拉赫马尼表示,检察官可能会尝试证明存在一起涉及移民欺诈的阴谋,这很可能属于10年诉讼时效范围之内 — — 否则他们可能会提起一项民事诉讼,而民事诉讼不受诉讼时效限制。皮罗也表示,正在进行的调查可能会导致刑事指控或民事指控。
Rahmani said that prosecutors could attempt to prove a conspiracy to commit immigration fraud that will likely fall within a 10-year statute of limitations — or else pursue a civil case that would have no statute of limitations. Pirro has also suggested either criminal or civil counts could result from the ongoing probes.
“我认为阴谋罪会被起诉有两个原因,”拉赫马尼说。“首先,你有一个未被起诉的共谋者 — — 就是她的父亲,他已经去世了。……[其次,] 你还能看到一些超出诉讼时效范围的旧行为。”这名前检察官补充说,除非搜查令“来自司法部最高层”,否则不会被执行;除非检察官认为他们能够起诉奥马尔,否则也不会被追究。
“There’s two reasons why I think the conspiracy will be charged,” Rahmani said. “First, you have an unindicted co-conspirator in her dad, who died. … [Second,] you get some of this older conduct that’s outside the statute of limitations as well.”The ex-prosecutor added that the search warrant would not have been executed unless it had “come from the highest levels of the DOJ” and wouldn’t have been pursued unless prosecutors thought they could indict Omar.
然而,最终,剥夺一名在任国会议员的公民身份并将其驱逐出境将是司法部前所未有的举动。
Eventually, though, moving to strip a sitting member of Congress of their citizenship and deporting them would be an unprecedented move by the DOJ.
她的辩护律师表示,“没有任何合理依据表明她违反了与她公民身份有关的任何法律。”此外,一名前移民官员告诉《华盛顿邮报》,奥马尔据称与其兄弟结婚的行为曾在特朗普政府首个任期期间被调查,但未能获得足够证据。
Her defense lawyers have said there’s “no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status.”Additionally, a former immigration official told The Washington Post that Omar purportedly marrying her brother had been investigated during the first Trump administration but yielded insufficient evidence.
奥马尔已经结婚三次,离婚两次。她与阿赫迈德·希尔西的第一段婚姻在她与埃尔米离婚正式完成之后才被法律承认 — — 尽管两人曾在2002年举行过穆斯林婚礼仪式。
Omar has been married three times and divorced twice. Her first marriage to Ahmed Hirsi wasn’t legally entered into until after her divorce from Elmi was finalized — despite the two having a Muslim wedding ceremony in 2002.
她育有三个孩子,最后一个孩子是在她与埃尔米合法婚姻期间出生的。根据《华盛顿邮报》此前审阅的文件,奥马尔、埃尔米和希尔西曾在某一时期共同居住过一处住所。
She gave birth to three children, the last of whom was born when she was legally married to Elmi. Omar, Elmi and Hirsi also appear to have shared the same residence at one point, per documents previously reviewed by The Post.
更进一步复杂的是,奥马尔在2014年和2015年期间仍然与埃尔米处于合法婚姻状态时,与希尔西共同申报了税款 — — 而她实际上早在2011年就与埃尔米分居了。
Further complicating the overlapping marriages, Omar filed joint taxes with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015 while still legally married to Elmi, from whom she had separated in 2011.
奥马尔的父亲与多个姓氏相关联,包括努尔·萨伊德·埃尔米·穆罕默德。
Omar’s father is associated with different surnames, including Nur Said Elmi Mohamed.
2019年,这位女议员与赫尔西离婚,随后嫁给了为她自己的竞选活动提供工作的政治顾问蒂姆·迈内特,此前据称她们曾有婚外情。
In 2019, the congresswoman divorced Hirsi to marry Tim Mynett, a political consultant who did work for her own campaign, following an alleged affair.
上周,当被问及其妻子案件中证据被扣押的情况时,迈内特对福克斯新闻说:“我的妻子12岁时作为童年战争难民来到这里。”截至上周,奥马尔也聘请了律师,他们向司法部发出了一封尖锐的信件,指出特朗普政府的调查存在“严重问题”,并要求“立即归还”所有被扣押的财产给明尼苏达州的民主党人。
Asked last week about the seizure of evidence in his wife’s case, Mynett told Fox News: “My wife came here when she was 12 years old as a child war refugee.”As of last week, Omar also retained attorneys, who fired off a scathing letter to the Department of Justice citing “grave concerns” with the Trump administration’s investigation and demanding the “immediate return” of all seized property to the Minnesota Democrat.
辩护律师艾米·杰弗雷斯和约书亚·马茨(他们未回应置评请求)写道,联邦官员未能遵守地方法官在奥马尔住所执行搜查令时提出的“特别要求”,并且通过在选举临近时进行搜查,违反了司法部长期存在的政策。
The defense attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz, who did not respond to requests for comment, wrote that the feds didn’t comply with a magistrate judge’s “special requests” for executing the search warrant at Omar’s home and flouted longstanding DOJ policy by conducting it close to an election.
他们说:“特朗普总统从未掩饰他想对奥马尔代表进行刑事调查和驱逐出境的意图,作为对她政治倡导的报复。”
“President Trump has made no secret of his desire to target Representative Omar for criminal investigation and deportation as retribution for her political advocacy,” they said.
司法部发言人回复称,该信件“充斥着虚假指控和不准确之处”。“我们的律师和执法伙伴一直遵守所有法院命令和法律义务,”该代表补充道。“在发送信件后立即向媒体泄露并不是善意的行为。这是一种宣传把戏。”
A DOJ spokesperson replied that the letter was “riddled with false allegations and inaccuracies.”“Our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations, as they always do,” the rep added. “Leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith. It is a publicity play.”