Ilhan Omar answered Donald Trump’s claim that she was “crooked as hell” by accusing him of using Minnesota fraud allegations to incite hostility against her and the Somali community.
In an opinion piece, Omar said Trump exploits fraud as a political weapon while shielding allies, pointing to pardons or clemency for figures tied to schemes worth $205 million, $38 million and tens of millions more.
She also accused Trump of creating a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded pool to compensate Jan. 6 defendants he pardoned after guilty pleas or convictions tied to the Capitol attack.
Omar said she had backed federal investigations and prosecutions in Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future case from the start, arguing the state pursued real accountability while Trump turns fraud into a partisan spectacle.
The broadest charge in her essay was that Trump uses racism and diversion to deflect scrutiny over his own record, including past civil fraud findings and other alleged self-enrichment.