Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Hometown Newspaper Endorses Primary Rival Melton-Meaux

The editorial board of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) hometown newspaper, The Star Tribune, endorsed her primary rival Antone Melton-Meaux Wednesday.

The board explained that they came to support Melton-Meaux after reviewing and interviewing both candidates extensively, stating that the candidate has “strong progressive values that align well with the district.”

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Multiple Requests Filed for Formal Investigation Into Ilhan Omar’s Alleged Criminal Conduct

  State Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) announced Tuesday that he’s submitting a formal request for a full investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) wrongdoings to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. Drazkowski made the announcement during a press conference Tuesday at the Minnesota State Capitol, where he said Omar “may be the most corrupt politician in Minnesota history.” “Had it not been kept from the public she likely would not be a member of Congress today,” he said. “Representative Omar deceived the IRS in filing her taxes when she filed jointly with someone who she was not legally married to. She deceived the voters, she lied to them about her sham marriage to Ahmed Elmi.”   As The Minnesota Sun reported, Drazkowski had previously asked Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN-02) to request an ethics investigation into Omar, but Craig allegedly dismissed the request and its importance. “I believe there is sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation. Congresswoman Omar has demonstrated a consistent pattern of deceptive and criminal conduct. The facts laid out in this request clearly show that there is probable cause for such an investigation,” Drazkowski writes in his letter to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. “The United State…

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Omar and ‘the Squad’ Reportedly Isolated by Pelosi, Saddled With Work to Avoid Spotlight

  Tensions between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) and the freshmen progressives in her party are starting to boil over. It was clear from the beginning that “the squad,” comprised of Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), wasn’t going to make things easy for Pelosi. For one thing, she’s repeatedly had to defend Omar and Tlaib against claims of anti-Semitism. The squad wants impeachment proceedings, while Pelosi would prefer to wait things out. Some members of the squad called for new leadership and would’ve liked to see Pelosi go. The Pelosi-squad schism has been the subject of several articles out of The New York Times and The Washington Post in the past few days. The squad’s vote against the House’s border-funding bill, which Pelosi called “our bill,” plus an “offensive” tweet from Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff that compared moderate Democrats to segregationists, are both factors that are threatening to bring the spat over the edge. “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi said of the squad in a recent interview with The New York Times. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how…

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Emails Show Omar’s Committee Boasting of Being Able to Shut Down Stories in Star Tribune

  Internal emails released this week show members of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) 2016 Minnesota House campaign committee attempting to “shut down” a story “as we do with the Strib.” “Strib” refers to the nickname used for The Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper. The shocking emails were obtained by Powerline from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, which discovered the emails during its investigation into Omar’s campaign finance violations. As Powerline notes, the emails were written following the outlet’s publication of an August 12, 2016 story questioning Omar’s marital status—the first story discussing Omar’s alleged marriage to her brother. In response, Omar’s campaign committee temporarily hired Ben Goldfarb as a crisis communications manager. “Does anyone on the team have a relationship with Blois?” Goldfarb wrote in an August 15 email, referring to Blois Olson, best known in media circles for his popular newsletter, Morning Take. That morning, Olson had linked to Powerline’s article in his newsletter. “Someone should probably reach out to talk off the record and shut it down with him as we do with the Strib,” Goldfarb continued. “I don’t know him, but can do it if nobody has a relationship. And we can tighten up the statement today…

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Ilhan Omar Speaks to Elementary and Middle School Students Behind Closed Doors

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) was back in her home district Friday visiting students at elementary and middle schools throughout the area, but parents and press were allegedly not allowed to attend. On Thursday evening, ahead of Omar’s visit to St. Anthony Middle School in Minneapolis, conservative activist Alley Waterbury altered her followers on Facebook to a protest that would be occurring. “We must protect our children,” Waterbury said. “The school is asking for permission for their children to attend this event, but the parents are not allowed to attend themselves. This is a problem and no cameras.” “Lecturing our kids behind closed doors with no parents is a no go,” she later added. Waterbury and her fellow protesters contacted the school to express their concerns after Waterbury’s initial alert quickly spread on social media. “Thank you for your feedback. Congresswoman Omar serves as the U.S. Representative for the 5th Congressional District, which includes St. Anthony. We understand some members of our community did not vote for Congresswoman Omar. When our local, elected representatives reach out to learn about our schools and school district, we always open our doors,” Principal Amy Kujawski wrote to Waterbury in response. “Congresswoman Omar’s visit will…

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Omar Once Claimed America Was ‘Founded by Genocide,’ Called International Terrorism ‘Avoidance Tactic’

  A 2017 tweet from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) was uncovered last week and shows the freshman member of Congress saying that America “was founded by genocide.” “We must confront that our nation was founded by genocide and we maintain global power through neocolonialism,” Omar wrote, linking to an op-ed she wrote for Time. Her tweet was retweeted by the Minnesota House DFL Twitter account. We must confront that our nation was founded by genocide and we maintain global power through neocolonialism. https://t.co/KAcXjqUw7u — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 17, 2017 In the article itself, Omar discussed the tragic events in Charlottesville and how to prevent it from happening again. “The solution is to educate. It is imperative we collectively overcome and make amends with history. We must confront that our nation was founded by the genocide of indigenous people and on the backs of slaves, that we maintain global power with the tenor of neocolonialism,” Omar wrote in the article. She then claimed that America’s “national avoidance tactic has been to shift the focus to potential international terrorism.” “With constant misinformation and fearmongering, it is easy to exacerbate external threats while avoiding our internal weaknesses. Our apathy has placed immense…

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Ilhan Omar Faces Widespread Condemnation for Using Anti-Semitic Tropes

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is once again facing backlash for multiple anti-Semitic tweets in which she suggested that Jewish money is responsible for bipartisan support of Israel. In response to journalist Glenn Greenwald’s claim that “it’s stunning how much time U.S. political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans,” Omar suggested that it’s “all about the Benjamins baby.” It's all about the Benjamins baby 🎶 https://t.co/KatcXJnZLV — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 10, 2019 Then, when another journalist said she would “love to know who [Omar] thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel,” Omar responded by exclaiming, “AIPAC,” which stands for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC! https://t.co/UdzaFUEfrh — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 11, 2019 Her tweets were later condemned by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as several Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “As Americans and Jews, we expect our politicians to condemn bigotry, not to fuel it. Words matter. At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in the U.S. and abroad, Rep. Omar is promoting the ugly, anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews have an outsized influence over politics,” said Jonathan Greenblatt,…

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