A national non-profit has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) for her apparent use of campaign funds for “romantic companionship.”
The complaint was filed by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), an organization that “promotes ethics in public life through research, investigation, education and legal action.”
“The Complaint documents improper disclosure of campaign expenditures by the federal candidate’s committee, and the personal use of campaign funds by the candidate,” a copy of the complaint released Wednesday states.
As The Minnesota Sun reported, a new divorce filing shows that Tim Mynett, Omar’s alleged lover, is officially parting ways with his wife, Dr. Beth Mynett.
Mrs. Mynett alleges in her divorce filing that her husband’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.”
Omar’s campaign committee paid E Street Group, a consulting firm run by Mr. Mynett, more than $200,000 in campaign funds. His firm, however, was launched just “one month before Omar started paying the company for its services,” according to Daily Mail.
The NLPC bases its complaint on this information, and states the following:
Although Mynett’s formal relationship with Rep. Omar’s campaign began in July 2018, with the payment of $7,000 directly to Mynett, the reimbursements for Mynett’s travel did not commence until April 2019, the same month that Dr. Mynett alleges in her filing that her husband told her of the affair, and made a ‘shocking declaration of love’ for Rep. Omar.
It appears that Respondent Mynett’s travel as reported by Ilhan for Congress may have been unrelated, or only partially related, to Omar’s campaign. If Ilhan for Congress reimbursed Mynett’s LLC for travel so that Rep. Omar would have the benefit of Mynett’s romantic companionship, the expenditures must be considered personal in nature.
The complaint concludes by asking the FEC to “conduct an investigation” and an audit of Omar’s campaign committee, arguing that there is “reason to believe Respondents knowingly and willfully violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.”
In an interview with WCCO Wednesday night, Omar denied that she’s in a relationship with Mynett.
“No, I am not. And I’ve like said yesterday I have no interest in really allowing the conversation about my personal life to continue. So I have no desire to discuss it,” Omar said.
Attorney General Keith Ellison dismissed the matter during an interview at the Minnesota State Fair Wednesday, saying it’s “just tabloid stuff that I would just not deal with.”
AG Keith Ellison defends US Rep Ilhan Omar re: allegations raised in a DC divorce filing. pic.twitter.com/tZ0Cpspd2q
— Peter Callaghan (@CallaghanPeter) August 28, 2019
The NLPC’s full complain is available here.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “NPLC” by NPLC. Photo “Ilhan Omar” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0.
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