Ilhan Omar’s Republican Opponent Joins Calls for Probe Into Possible Illegal Campaign Spending

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks at a press conference on the Capitol on July 15, 2019. Holly Kellum/NTD

A Republican candidate for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s seat said that investigators should probe whether she illegally spent campaign funds for personal matters related to an affair she’s allegedly having with a married man.

Omar (D-Minn.), 37, is also married.

A Washington doctor said in papers filed this week that her husband left her for Omar. Tim Mynett, her husband, is a political consultant whose firm has received some $223,000 from Omar since last year. He has been pictured with her at various events.

According to Beth Mynett, 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.”

The National Legal and Policy Center said in a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission on Aug. 28 that the commission should probe whether Omar improperly spent campaign funds for personal matters. Omar was found to have done that during the 2018 campaign and was ordered to repay thousands of dollars.

Lacy Johnson, who is running against Omar, joined the voices calling for an investigation into Omar’s possible illegal campaign spending.

“I wish I could say I was surprised that my opponent Ilhan Omar had an affair with a married man and paid him (likely illegally) $222,000 out of campaign contributions. This is the same woman that is accused of committing tax fraud for marrying her brother. Investigate Ilhan!” he wrote in a statement on Aug. 28.

Johnson announced his candidacy on Aug. 14.

“Actions have consequences @IlhanMN. The citizens of the 5th district in Minnesota want answers and the truth. A true leader looks the American people in the eye and tells the truth. Tell the truth! If you have violated the law, you need to resign from Congress,” he later added. He also shared records showing that Omar’s campaign paid Mynett the money for travel expenses and other purposes.

Omar applied for licenses to get married to her current husband, Ahmed Hirsi, in 2002 but they didn’t follow through on the procedure and instead got married in a religious ceremony, according to the representative.

Omar said her and Hirsi split in 2008 and she married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi the next year. There are allegations that Elmi is Omar’s brother.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is seen in the audience ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in a file photograph. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Omar and Elmi ended their relationship in 2011 and, according to Omar, divorced in the Muslim way but did not take legal action to officially get divorced.

She and Hirsi had their third child together in 2012 and filed joint tax returns in 2014 and 2015. Omar swore in an affidavit that she could not reach Elmi to get divorced but photographs posted online appeared to show them together in the U.K. in 2015. Elmi admitted being the man in the pictures, which were deleted from the accounts of both himself and Omar, but claimed he didn’t know Omar.

In 2017, she filed for divorce. The next year, after the divorce went through, Omar and Hirsi were married.

Now, though, reports indicate that Omar and Hirsi are separated and Omar is having an affair with Mynett.

Hirsi declined to comment when reached by the Daily Mail and Omar told WCCO this week that she was neither separated nor having an affair.

Mynett has not commented on the situation and his wife has not spoken about the situation outside the divorce filing.