Vice President Vance says "we're going to see whether she did commit a crime"
JD VanceVice President of the United States, interviewed by Fox News Digital
In an interview with Fox News Digital the day after the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington home, Vice President JD Vance said the administration would let the investigation unfold and that legal proceedings would follow if criminal wrongdoing or immigration fraud were uncovered. He said Omar has "such disdain and such rage at the country that gave her a better life," added that this is not a crime, and said "we're going to see whether she did commit a crime."
“If, of course, criminal wrongdoing is discovered or potentially fraudulent immigration is uncovered, then obviously there will be legal proceedings to follow that.” … “We have very rarely had a person in Congress who seems to have such disdain and such rage at the country that gave her a better life” … “Now, that's not a crime.” … “But we're going to see whether she did commit a crime. And if she did, we're obviously going to follow the law”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Should Trump administration officials publicly accuse Rep. Ilhan Omar of immigration fraud?
Since at least 2016 there have been unproven claims that Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 2009 husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is her brother. Senior Trump administration officials have repeated the claim publicly. This record begins with Vice President JD Vance’s March 27, 2026 statement that “we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud,” and includes President Donald Trump’s May 1 statement, “I believe she married her brother.” On September 10, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a podcast interview, “we know that she married her brother to try to bring him in the United States,” and that an investigation was ongoing. On September 13, border czar Tom Homan declined to give specifics of an “ongoing criminal investigation” but said “no one’s above the law.” Omar has denied the claim: on September 16 she told a reporter “Absolutely not” and that she is not under investigation, and on September 18 Fox News Digital reported her saying DHS had not contacted her. Fox reported that there has been no public evidence available to confirm an open investigation into her.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Fox News Digital published this interview on October 14, 2026. Vance spoke to reporter Peter D'Abrosca on October 13 after a campaign rally in Tyler, Texas, the day after Homeland Security Investigations searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington home.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Vance said the president and he do not "butt ourselves in the DOJ investigations" and that "we're gonna let the investigation unfold". Asked about the investigation being unprecedented, he said Omar "herself is a very unprecedented person".
After the quotation
Fox News Digital reported that Vance spoke after a rally for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Tyler, Texas. The article then quotes Omar's posts calling the search "an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Vance says the administration will see whether Omar committed a crime and follow the law if she did. He does not repeat his March statement that she definitely committed immigration fraud, and he conditions any action on what the investigation finds. That makes the statement conditional on the accusation itself. The closest competing label is defends or excuses, because he defends the investigation and criticizes Omar's attitude toward the country; it loses because he stops short of asserting that she committed fraud.
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- Ilhan Omar
More from this case
Read the full caseEmma Vigeland says Ilhan Omar is being persecuted by the Trump administration
“Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, has not said a damn thing about Ilhan Omar being persecuted by the Trump administration. This entirely like ICE and DHS operating outside of the traditional legal system and bringing in a national security justification to terrorize citizens and now elected officials.”Read statement
Omar's spokesperson calls the citizenship push "an authoritarian move to silence an opponent"
“This isn't a legitimate law enforcement action,” … “It is an authoritarian move to silence an opponent right before an election where he and his party will be rejected by Americans in historic proportions.”Read statement
Rep. Ilhan Omar says DHS has not formally reached out to her about an investigation and that she does not “really worry about it”
“Why don’t you follow up with them and ask them what is the information that they have” … “The right wing has always had this shit going, so I don’t really worry about it. You have a good day.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Vice President Vance says "we're going to see whether she did commit a crime"". First published: 2026-10-17. Last updated: 2026-10-17. https://disputeindex.com/events/5967-in-an-interview-with-fox-news-digital-the