2016 investigation found "some evidence" of sham Omar marriage

Details this morning emerging about a past investigation into Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. The New York Times is reporting the Obama administration was investigating her back in 2016 and found some evidence that she had entered into a sham marriage with a man suspected of being her brother. But that case was stalled because of the five-year statute of limitations. The Justice Department recently raided Omar's home in the Washington, D.C. area as part of a federal investigation. Now, to talk more about this, we're joined now by Michelle Swerz, our professor of American government at Georgetown University. Professor Swerz, thank you for being with us this morning on Mornings on 2. Thank you for having me. This is a story that just won't seem to go away. What's your feel about this information that even the Obama administration was investigating Ilhan Omar? Well, the Obama administration in 2016 was also very interested in immigration enforcement. So at that time, President Obama was pursuing the DACA program, which was a program that was meant to give a path to citizenship, really a path that you wanted a path to citizenship. It was really a path to be able to work for people that were called dreamers who had been been brought into the United States by their parents when their parents had He had entered the country illegally. So in pursuing that, he also was pursuing immigration enforcement with the idea that you would be able to have legislation that would have immigration enforcement, border security, and this idea of a path to citizenship. So at that time, probably Ilhan Omar was under investigation as part of their efforts to enforce immigration law. So from your perspective, from what you've been able to pick out, is there anything there? So I am certainly not a lawyer, so I couldn't say if there's something there in the case. In terms of the reporting, the reporting was that the case was dropped because of a statute of limitations and not necessarily because they decided that there was not evidence to pursue. So the Trump administration is trying to pursue that evidence and other issues related to immigration and her family. And they've kind of some criticism for that because generally they don't pursue cases related to that could influence elections this close to an election. And do you see Congresswoman Ilhan Omar being a drain hurting the Democratic Party, which she's representing? Well, in Minnesota, there is a governor's race and there is a more competitive Senate race between. Flanagan and Michelle Tafoya. And so perhaps Peggy Flanagan having to defend Ilhan Omar could have some impact on that race. But this year is a pretty good year for Democrats because the midterm elections are largely based off of the president's approval rating. The president's approval rating is quite low right now. So at least in Minnesota, the elections look favorable for the Democrats. But certainly Democratic candidates are going to be asked about this and asked to defend her. All right. I appreciate your comments. Michelle Schwerz, our professor of American government at Georgetown University, thank you for being with us on Morning Talk. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.