Representative Ilhan Omar announced her marriage to Tim Mynett on Instagram last night after denying that the two had a relationship for months. Mynett’s prior wife alleged in court papers that he walked out on their marriage after admitting to having an affair with Omar, which Omar denied. Omar filed for divorce from her prior husband Ahmed Hirsi less than two months before the affair allegations were brought to light.
According to the Associated Press, “Omar posted the news of her new marriage Wednesday night on Instagram, with a photo that showed her and a bearded man smiling and displaying wedding rings. ‘Got married! From partners in politics to life partners, so blessed,’ the post read. Omar’s post didn’t identify the man and a spokesman didn’t immediately respond to messages.”
Between October and December of last year, Omar’s campaign committees paid Mynett’s firm E Street Group $215,000, more than half of total disbursements over that time period (most of which was after her campaign was over). In total, E Street Group received $525,000 from Omar’s campaign, or forty percent of her campaign’s overall spending.
Had the two been married at the time, that would’ve immediately raised red flags (and still could now). Omar had previously been ordered to reimburse her campaign $3,500 after the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board found she illegally used campaign funds in 2016 and 2017. She was also fined $500. The violating payments included reimbursements for personal travel expenses, in addition to hiring a law firm for services related to an inquiry into her personal tax returns.
Soon-after she was hit with an FEC complaint in late August for allegedly using her campaign to illegally reimburse the travel expenses of Mynett. The complaint was filed one day after Mynett’s wife alleged the affair. Travel expenses totaled over $21,000 and were not itemized, which is required.
Omar is no stranger to campaign finance scandals – and she certainly is no stranger to marriage scandals. Perhaps a fusion of the two is forthcoming.
