Ilhan Omar Addresses Affair Allegation with Curt Denial
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is refuting an allegation that she’s having an affair with a Washington, D.C.-area political consultant whose firm has received thousands of dollars from her campaign.
On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that the wife of 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 read.
Moreover, a July report in the U.K. Daily Mail claimed Omar had left her husband.
Omar was asked about these reports during an interview Wednesday with WCCO.
“Are you separated from your husband?” WCCO’s Esme Murphy asked. “Are you dating somebody?”
Omar responded: “No, I am not. As I said yesterday, I have no interest in allowing the conversation about my personal life to continue and so I have no desire to discuss it.”
But Omar may need to discuss her personal life if it turns out that she used campaign funds to pursue a romantic relationship, one ethics watchdog says.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Tim Mynett is a partner at E Street Group.
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.
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 read.
If Omar used campaign money to pursue her alleged affair with Mynett, 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.”
Will Hailer, Mynett’s business partner at E Street Group, said in a statement to The Washington Post that “E Street Group does not comment on the personal life of either our staff or clients.”
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