Report: Ilhan Omar Campaign Has Funneled Big Bucks to Her New Husband
Rep. Ilhan Omar has reportedly continued to funnel money to her new husband’s consulting firm, according to campaign finance data.
In the same month the Minnesota Democrat announced her marriage to political consultant Tim Mynett, her campaign paid Mynett’s E Street Group over $189,000 for various expenses, the New York Post reported, citing Federal Election Commission filings.
The E Street group has received a total of $292,814.99 from Ilhan for Congress this year for digital advertising, fundraising consulting and research services, according to the outlet.
Payments between Omar and the consulting group led to at least one ethics complaint in 2019.
In November, it was reported that over the previous three months, Omar paid $146,712.63 to the E Street Group, to whom she earlier paid $223,000, according to Federal Election Commission data.
In total, E Street Group has received $816,256 from Omar’s campaign since 2019, according to data from Open Secrets.
In August, an FEC public affairs specialist pointed to the agency’s regulations on such situations, as the Post reported.
“Salary payments to a member of a candidate’s family are not considered personal use, provided that the family member is providing bona fide services to the campaign and at a rate that does not exceed fair market value of the services provided,” the regulations read.
However, Richard Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House, said “it should not be allowed.”
“I think it’s a horrible idea to allow it, given the amount of money that goes into these campaigns from special interests,” he told the Post this week.
“We already have enough problems with gifts to campaigns as a quid pro quo for political action.”
If the FEC investigates the shuffling of funds, Omar and Mynett must prove that the campaign is paying the agency a reasonable market-based rate.
“There’s a long line of abuses in this regard where members of Congress will hire family members and pay their family members to do ‘campaign work’ in order to supplement the family incomes,” political law expert Cleta Mitchell told the Post.
In a series of tweets in March, Omar defended her campaign spending and accused “rightwing Twitter” of peddling misinformation.
“We consulted with a top FEC campaign attorney to ensure there were no possible legal issues with our relationship. We were told this is not uncommon and that no, there weren’t,” she tweeted.
My relationship with Tim began long after this work started.
We consulted with a top FEC campaign attorney to ensure there were no possible legal issues with our relationship. We were told this is not uncommon and that no, there weren’t.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 17, 2020
It’s disappointing that reporters would rather amplify the baseless claims and misinformation of rightwing Twitter instead of talking to actual experts on the law.
This is everything wrong with media coverage in 2020.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 17, 2020
“It’s disappointing that reporters would rather amplify the baseless claims and misinformation of rightwing Twitter instead of talking to actual experts on the law,” she added.
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