Watchdog Says Records Show Ilhan Omar's Alleged Affair May Have Led to Violations of Campaign Finance Law
Federal Election Commission records reveal that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s campaign paid thousands of dollars for “travel expenses” to a political consulting firm where a man she’s been linked to romantically serves as a partner.
According to one ethics watchdog, the Minnesota congresswoman may have violated campaign finance laws in the process.
On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that the wife of Washington, D.C.-area political consultant Tim Mynett said in a divorce filing that her husband is having an affair with Omar.
Dr. Beth Jordan Mynett said her husband acknowledged the affair in April and made a “shocking declaration of love” for Omar before leaving his wife.
“The parties physically separated on or about April 7, 2019, when Defendant told Plaintiff that he was romantically involved with and in love with another woman, Ilhan Omar,” court documents say.
Tim Mynett is a partner at E Street Group, according to his LinkedIn profile.
And FEC records uncovered by The Daily Caller News Foundation reveal Omar’s campaign has paid out $21,547 to E Street Group for “travel expenses” since April, the same month Mynett allegedly admitted to the affair.
Ilhan Omar’s campaign has funded $21,547 in travel for Tim Mynett’s company starting April 1.
One week later, Mynett told his wife he was having an affair with Omar, according to a divorce filing Tuesday.https://t.co/JK4pvVaonr
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) August 27, 2019
This is relevant because Beth Mynett takes note in the divorce filing of her husband’s “extensive travel” with Omar, which she does not believe has always been work-related.
“Defendant’s more recent travel and long work hours now appear to be more related to his affair with Rep. Omar than with his actual work commitments,” court papers say.
So what does it all mean?
Well, if Omar used campaign money to pursue a romantic relationship, then she may have violated campaign finance laws, says Tom Anderson of the conservative National Legal and Policy Center.
“We believe Representative Ilhan Omar may have touched the third rail of campaign finance law: disbursing campaign funds for personal use,” Anderson told The DCNF.
“It’s a brazen act Representative Omar was caught doing before in Minnesota, and all of the evidence we’ve seen tells us she’s probably doing it again,” Anderson added.
Omar has gotten into hot water when it comes to her campaign finances before, as she was previously fined for improperly using campaign money to travel to Florida.
Tuesday’s revelations, meanwhile, come more than a month after a July report claimed Omar and her husband had split up.
“Omar has now dumped her current husband Ahmed Hirsi — who she first married in a religious ceremony in 2002 and divorced in 2008 — and moved into a penthouse apartment in one of Minneapolis’s trendiest neighborhoods,” the U.K. Daily Mail reported.
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