MINNEAPOLIS: US Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has married a political consultant who worked for her, months after the two were accused of having an affair, which she denied.
A marriage license filed in Washington, D.C., shows Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett on Wednesday. Omar announced her new marriage Wednesday night on Instagram, with a photo of her and a bearded man smiling and displaying wedding rings. “Got married! From partners in politics to life partners, so blessed,” the post says, without identifying Mynett by name.
Filings with the Federal Election Commission show Omar’s campaign paid Tim Mynett or his firm nearly $600,000 since July 2018. Though it may raise eyebrows, family members, including spouses, can be on the campaign payroll as long as the family member provides services at a fair market value.
A relationship between Omar and Mynett was publicly alleged in August, when Mynett’s then-wife, Beth Mynett, filed for divorce and accused her husband and Omar of having an affair. In response, Tim Mynett filed his own court document denying his wife’s assertion that he had told her months earlier that he was in love with Omar and that he was ending his marriage to be with the congresswoman.
When Omar was asked at the time whether she was separated from her then-husband or dating someone, she told WCCO-TV, “No, I am not.” She has since declined to discuss her personal life.
In October, she filed for divorce from her husband and longtime partner Ahmed Hirsi, citing an “irretrievable breakdown” in the marriage. That divorce was finalized in November.
According to Beth Mynett’s August divorce filing, Tim Mynett is a founder of E Street Group and met Omar while working for her. His LinkedIn page says he is still a partner at the firm.
A message left with the company to confirm his employment and determine whether he is still working for Omar was not immediately returned. A spokesman for Omar also did not immediately return a message seeking to confirm whether Mynett still works for her.
According to the FEC filings, Omar’s congressional campaign paid Mynett or his firm for services including fundraising consulting, Internet advertising, website development and digital communications. Several of the payments were also for travel expenses.
It’s not uncommon for congressional members to employ family members, including spouses, parents and children. The Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits using campaign funds for personal use. But payments to family members aren’t considered personal if the services provided are paid at fair market value.
A message left with the Office of Congressional Ethics was not immediately returned Thursday, and it’s not clear if it is investigating.
Ilhan Omar marries political consultant, months after affair claim
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Ilhan Omar marries political consultant, months after affair claim
- A marriage license filed in Washington, D.C., shows Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett on Wednesday
- A relationship between Omar and Mynett was publicly alleged in August, when Mynett’s then-wife, Beth Mynett, filed for divorce
Brazilian ex-President Jair Bolsonaro undergoes double hernia surgery
- He was granted court permission to leave prison after federal police doctors confirmed that he needed the procedure
- The surgery in Brasilia is expected to last about four hours
SAO PAULO: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is undergoing double hernia surgery on Thursday at a hospital in the country’s capital, his family said.
Bolsonaro, who has been hospitalized since Wednesday, has been serving a 27-year prison sentence since November for an attempted coup.
He was granted court permission to leave prison after federal police doctors confirmed that he needed the procedure. The surgery in Brasilia is expected to last about four hours, the DF Star hospital medical team said in a statement Wednesday.
Doctors say Bolsonaro’s double hernia causes him pain. The former leader, who was in power between 2019 and 2022, has gone through several other surgeries since he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally in 2018.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and sentenced him to prison, authorized the procedure, but denied the former president’s request for house arrest after he leaves the hospital.
Bolsonaro doesn’t have any contact with the few other inmates at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia, where he is held and where his 12-square-meter (around 130-square-foot) room has a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a television and a desk, according to authorities.
He has free access to his doctors and lawyers, but other visitors must receive approval from the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, de Moraes authorized Bolsonaro’s sons to visit him while he’s hospitalized. His wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, is accompanying him.
Early Thursday, his eldest son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, told reporters before the surgery that his father had written a letter confirming he had appointed him as his political party’s presidential candidate in next year’s election. Flávio Bolsonaro announced on Dec. 5 that he will challenge President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, as the candidate of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.
The senator read the letter to journalists, and his office released a reproduction of it to the media.
“He represents the continuation of the path of prosperity that I began well before becoming president, as I believe we must restore the responsibility of leading Brazil with justice, resolve and loyalty to the aspirations of the Brazilian people,” Bolsonaro said in the handwritten letter, dated Dec. 25.
The former president and several of his allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic system following his 2022 election defeat.
The plot included plans to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and de Moraes. There was also a plan to encourage an insurrection in early 2023.
Bolsonaro was also convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied any wrongdoing.
