Democratic representative Ilhan Omar (Minn.) married her top political consultant, whose firm received more than half a million dollars from Omar's campaign coffers last year.
Omar denied allegations of an affair with Tim Mynett, her top campaign consultant, after reports surfaced last August alleging the two were romantically involved. During this time, cash flowed freely from Omar's campaign to the E Street Group, a consulting firm owned by Mynett.
"Got Married! From partners in politics to life partners, so blessed. Alhamdulillah," the congresswoman wrote in a Wednesday night Instagram post with a photo of herself and Mynett.
Throughout 2019, Omar funneled $525,000 to Mynett's firm for consulting, direct mail, research services, travel expenses, advertisements, and graphic designs. The payments to Mynett's firm steadily increased as the year progressed. During the last three months of 2019, Omar's campaign spent $404,000. Mynett's firm received $215,000 of that amount, more than 50 percent of the campaign's total expenditures.
The affair went public after Mynett's ex-wife, Dr. Beth Mynett, said in divorce papers that her husband was involved with Omar. "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 papers said.
"By way of example, days prior to Defendant's devastating and shocking declaration of love for Rep. Omar and admission of their affair, he and Rep. Omar took the parties' son to dinner to formally meet for the first time at the family's favorite neighborhood restaurant while Plaintiff was out of town," the papers said. "Rep. Omar gave the parties' son a gift and the Defendant later brought her back inside the family's home."
Omar claimed that she was not having an affair and was not separated from her then-husband Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi. "I have no interest in allowing the conversation about my personal life to continue and so I have no desire to discuss it," Omar said.
Mynett also denied the affair and claimed his ex-wife was attempting to "ruin his career." "Since the time of Mr. Mynett’s departure from the marital home, Ms. Mynett began a negative campaign against Mr. Mynett, seemingly in an effort to ruin his career and permanently damage his relationship with William and his step-daughter," court papers said.
Despite the denials, the pair was regularly seen together in public. The Washington Free Beacon spotted the couple last November at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington, D.C., during a secretive gathering of the Democracy Alliance, a liberal millionaire and billionaire donor club.
Omar's campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the payments in light of the couple now tying the knot.