Omar struggles to explain Minnesota fraud on CNN amid federal probe

During an interview Wednesday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., appeared to struggle to explain how fraud got “so out of control” in Minnesota after federal officials announced an investigation into an alleged Somali fraud ring operating in the state.

After being pressed by Tapper to explain how fraud became so rampant in her state, the congresswoman gave a tortuous response, attributing the problem to inadequate “guardrails” for COVID relief funds that were then exploited.

“I think what’s happened, uh, is that, you know, when you have these kinds of new programs that are, uh, designed to help people, you often rely on third parties to be able to facilitate them. And I just think a lot of the COVID programs that have been put in place — they’ve been put in place so quickly that a lot of the guardrails haven’t been created,” Omar told the host.

FEDERAL INVESTIGATION TARGETS ALLEGED MINNESOTA SOMALI FRAUD “NETWORK” AS COVID-AID CRIME NETWORKS PERSIST

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., appears on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Screenshot/CNN)

After the congresswoman’s response, Tapper criticized President Donald Trump for making “shocking and bigoted” comments not only about Omar, but about “the entire Somali community in Minnesota” while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

“These Somalis have taken billions of dollars out of our country. They’ve taken billions and billions of dollars. They have a representative, Ilhan Omar, who they say married her brother. She should be kicked out of our country. And most of these people, they destroyed Minnesota. She shouldn’t – and her friend shouldn’t be allowed – frankly, they shouldn’t even be allowed to be congressmen, okay? They shouldn’t even be allowed to be congressmen because that they do not represent the interests of our country,” Trump told reporters.

After playing the clip for Omar, Tapper asked the congresswoman if she had a response to the president’s comments about her and other Somali immigrants.

“I’m not shocked because we know that the president often resorts to very bigoted, xenophobic, Islamophobic and racist rhetoric when he’s trying to scapegoat and distract from the real failures that he himself has,” Omar said. “We know that this administration has failed to deliver on the majority of the promises it has made, from cutting costs, to tariffs that are decimating businesses in the United States, to possible war crimes committed by its Secretary of Defense.”

She continued, “And so, to me, it’s important for us to, number one, remind people that we are Americans. We’re not going anywhere and we will continue to be in this country. And number two, that Minnesotans are resilient and that we will continue to thrive.”

A representative for Omar did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

LIZ PEEK: HUGE THEFT OF PROFESSIONAL HELP IN MINNESOTA PROVES DEMOCRATS CAN’T POLICE THEIR OWN MESS

Representative Ilhan Omar speaks during a markup meeting with the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the Small Business Administration announced its investigation into a network of Somali groups in Minnesota that it says is linked to a massive COVID-related fraud scandal, highlighting alleged systemic failures by Gov. Tim Walz’s team in properly auditing public funds.

Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, is embroiled in a scandal that has already led to charges against dozens of people — most of them Somalis — and sparked allegations from state government officials of retaliation against whistleblowers and institutional neglect.

“Many individuals and nonprofits charged in Minnesota’s billion-dollar COVID fraud scandal, including Feeding Our Future, received PPP loans from the SBA in addition to other state and federal funding,” Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced on X. “I ordered a network survey Somali organizations and leaders involved in these schemes.

MINNESOTA GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES BLAME WALZ FOR ‘MASSIVE FRAUD’ AMID ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SOMALIAN COMMUNITY

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., walks near the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)

She added: “Despite all of Governor Walz’s obstructive efforts, the SBA continues to work to expose abuses and hold perpetrators accountable, period.”

An SBA spokesperson confirmed the investigation to Fox News Digital, saying the agency was “investigating all individuals and organizations charged in connection with Minnesota’s $1 billion COVID fraud scheme to identify those who may also have fraudulently obtained PPP loans – evaluating their citizenship status, legitimacy of their nonprofit work and other eligibility requirements.”

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Charles Creitz of Fox News contributed to this report.