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MINNEAPOLIS — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), refused to respond to a request from a Minnesota committee seeking more information on her ties to the massive fraud scandal in the state, prompting a failed subpoena vote on Tuesday, but the committee’s chair says more options exist.
The subpoena, which required a two-thirds committee vote in favor to pass, only got five out of the six votes needed despite the committee's Republican majority.
"We have reached out to Representative Ilhan Omar on multiple occasions, inviting her to testify and inviting and requesting documents," State Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, said ahead of the vote. "We have endeavored in multiple ways to get access to [information] because, as everyone knows, Representative Omar had had some role, whether inadvertent or not. She passed the MEALS Act in March of 2020, and that took the guardrails off the federal school nutrition program, which created the conditions for [fraud]."
"I do think the subpoena is important. This is one of dozens, if not hundreds of things we are investigating. We have had hundreds of whistleblower reports. They continue to come in weekly," Robbins added, noting she will continue to try to reach out to Omar's office to get cooperation. "Even though the committee will no longer have official hearings we will continue to investigate these whistleblower reports and webs of fraud."
Fox News Digital touched base with Robbins on Tuesday about possible next steps."They're fading," Robbins said about the committee’s options after a failed subpoena vote. "But I'll certainly talk to our friends in Congress to see if they would be willing to issue a subpoena. I don't know if they are, but they would have the same authority and it's still relevant to them because it's a federal program that's been swindled. So I don't know if they would be willing to do it, but it's worth asking."
Robbins added that the federal government has a "whole menu of legal options" given that Omar is a member of Congress.
"They have so many investigations going on, I don’t know where this falls on the priority list," Robbins said.
Last month, Robbins says the congresswoman "ghosted" the committee by failing to appear to testify at a hearing focused on the MEALS Act, a federal COVID-19 relief measure passed in 2020 and sponsored by Omar.
"Minnesotans and the Members of the House Fraud Prevention & State Oversight Committee were disappointed that you failed to appear before our committee to answer questions," Robbins wrote before asking Omar to turn over communications showing how she promoted expanded access to federal child nutrition programs, including emails, texts and meeting records with the Minnesota Department of Education and constituents.
The request also zeroed in on Omar’s public promotion of a Minneapolis restaurant that later became linked to the program. Robbins cited a Somali-language TV appearance in which Omar highlighted Safari Restaurant as a meal distribution site and asked for all communications related to the video and the restaurant’s participation.
Robbins is seeking records of any contact between Omar and a long list of individuals charged or implicated in the Feeding Our Future case, including nonprofit founder Aimee Bock and dozens of alleged co-conspirators.
The deadline for Omar to respond to the committee’s questions was Tuesday, May 5."It’s the same story every time," Robbins posted on X after the vote. "Fraud is committed, information is suppressed, and the dysfunction continues."
At press time, Omar's office had reportedly responded to the committee by sending a single emoji and a link to her latest GoFundMe for "fighting Islamophobia while totally not involved in any nutrition-related shenanigans."
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