Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and her husband were named this year’s “best power couple” by City Pages despite their scandalous history.
“Plenty of partnerships have the kind of passion worth breaking up a marriage or two, as this one did,” City Pages‘s glowing review of Omar’s third marriage begins. “But do you love your partner enough to expose yourself to worldwide tabloid scrutiny, like Tim Mynett did?”
The couple wed in March shortly after Omar divorced her husband, Ahmed Hirsi, amid allegations of an affair with Mynett.
In addition to acknowledging that Omar and Mynett’s relationship allegedly began as an affair, City Pages lauded the fact that the Omar campaign has paid Mynett’s consulting firm an astronomical amount of money since their wedding.
“Is there someone you feel strongly enough about that you’d keep right on spending money ($878,000) with his consulting firm, despite a campaign finance complaint, as U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has?” City Pages asked. The Omar campaign has now funneled more than $1.7 million to Mynett’s consulting firm, E Street Group, since August 2018.
The financial relationship between the Omar campaign and Mynett has drawn broad criticism and even prompted the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The NLPC alleged that Omar used campaign funds for “romantic companionship” by paying for Mynett’s travel expenses.
Judicial Watch and Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) have both filed U.S. House ethics complaints against Omar, citing “potential immigration, marriage, tax, and student loan fraud,” as well as potential perjury and bigamy.
Omar’s professional relationship with Mynett existed prior to the their romantic involvement, according to a March statement from the congresswoman.
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
City Pages said “it’s nice to see her [Omar] smile” because her “first term has been insanely stressful,” due to “death threats” and “venomous” tweets from President Donald Trump.
Omar has claimed that the president’s commentary about her poses a mortal threat. “The President of the United States is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk,” she said after Trump reposted a video criticizing the congresswoman.
This is from a CBC event we hosted this weekend to celebrate black women in Congress.
The President of the United States is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk.
What is Twitter doing to combat this misinformation? https://t.co/XdkRVrU7mZ
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 18, 2019
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
