Congresswoman Ilhan Omar paid her husband’s political consultancy firm $2.8million during the 2019-2020 election cycle, campaign finance records show.
Omar handed husband Tim Mynett’s E Street Group LLC $1.6million between 2019 and July 22 this year, Fox News reported Tuesday, citing Federal Election Commission data.
Another $1.1million was sent to the firm between July 22 and the end of September and paid an additional $27,000 in the following weeks.
The $1.1 million paid by Omar’s campaign in the third quarter was close to 70 percent that her campaign spent in those three months, per Fox News, which first reported the figures on Tuesday.
FEC records show the majority of the money had been spent on digital advertising, but charges also include consultancy fees and more than $2,700 in travel expenses.
The many controversies surrounding Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, who allegedly at one time married her brother, had little impact on her campaign and was re-elected last week. She took almost 65 per cent of the ballot, compared to Republican challenger Lacey Johnson’s 26 per cent.
Omar has defended her expenses and said her campaign worked with Mynett’s firm long before they began a relationship. Federal anti-nepotism laws prohibit politicians from giving jobs to family members, but do not block relatives from doing campaign work.
“We consulted with a top FEC campaign attorney to ensure there were no possible legal issues with our relationship,” she said in a Twitter post in March, just days after she married Mynett. “We were told this is not uncommon and that no, there weren’t.”
Omar and Mynett married in March, and just weeks after they tied the knot, Mynett’s consulting firm was paid $189,000 by Omar’s campaign, The Post reported in July.
Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics attorney to George W. Bush, told The Post back in July “It should not be allowed,” the practice creates suspicion and should be banned.
‘I think it’s a horrible idea to allow it, given the amount of money that goes into these campaigns from special interests.’