Ilhan Omar paid husband's consultancy firm $2.8M since 2019, including $1.1M in last four months: Filings
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar reportedly paid her husband Tim Mynett's political consultancy firm $2.8 million during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to campaign finance records. The Minnesota Representative gave eStreet Group $1.6 million between 2019 and July 22, 2020, another $1.1 million between July 22 and the end of September this year, and also paid the firm an additional $27,000. The FEC records state that a majority of the money has been spent on digital advertising, however, the firm's charges also include consultancy fees and over $2,700 in travel expenses.
The lawmaker's campaign finance records showed that she paid her husband's firm a total of $86,500 for "digital consulting" and "fundraising consulting" beginning of July and mid-October. While two largest payments in recent months were made on July 7, $404,338.75 for digital advertising, and another $289,759.58 on July 24 for cable advertising. Payments from Omar to Mynett's company have been questioned earlier as well, but appear to be above-board. Omar released tweeted on the issue back in March, saying the couple had discussed their relationship with an FEC attorney, who told them it was permitted under the law.
Omar and Mynett reportedly met when the latter began working with the Democrat's campaign during the 2018 election, which she won by a landslide. It is believed that it is around that time the pair began their affair. It is not yet known whether they both began their relationship when they were married. A divorce filing by Mynett's wife, however, revealed that he separated from his wife in April 2019 when he allegedly declared his love for Omar to her. The couple separated last December after being married for seven years. Meanwhile, the lawmaker divorced her husband, Ahmed Hirsi, whom she married in 2002, and legally in 2018, in November last year.
Omar, shortly after filing for divorce from husband Ahmed Hirsi, suggested that the media and her political foes were partly responsible for the downfall of her marriage. Omar's lawyer released a statement on the Minnesota congresswoman's behalf, saying: "Ilhan and Ahmed have been the object of speculation and innuendo from political opponents and the media. This has taken a significant toll on Ilhan, Ahmed, and their three children. As with all marriages, this is intensely personal and a difficult time for their family. Just like any other family navigating this kind of transition, Ilhan wishes to have their privacy respected for themselves and their children and will not be commenting any further."
The news of the couple's divorce came a month after reports of Hirsi looking to file for divorce amidst her alleged affair with Mynett. The Post, last month, reported their source, a close friend of the estranged couple, as saying that Hirsi was determined to officially separate from the Minnesota Representative after it was revealed in a bombshell court filing that Omar allegedly had an affair with Mynett. It was later revealed, in March 2020, that Mynett reportedly officiated his own marriage to the lawmaker, according to their marriage certificate. The document lists Mynett as both the officiant and the bridegroom at the ceremony.
A member of the Democrat 'Squad' on Capitol Hill, Omar, won reelection to Minnesota's 5th district on November 3 by clinching 65 percent of the votes against Republican challenger Lacey Johnson.