Could it be that Democrat freshman sensation Rep. Ilhan Omar is starting to wear out her welcome already?
That could be what one takes away from a stunning rebuke from her hometown newspaper after the latest scandal involving the Somali-born bomb thrower hit the news last week following months of controversy and self-inflicted wounds.
The latest problem to hit Omar – who is manifestly unfit for Congress – involves the filing of joint tax returns with her current husband while she was married to another man on top of campaign finance violations, a double-whammy that is a bridge too far for the ultra-liberal Star Tribune which is the top newspaper in the Twin Cities.
Minneapolis may be a northern outpost for the California-based anti-Trump resistance and her district proudly turned out to vote Omar in last November as a replacement for outgoing Keith Ellison who slunk out of the secure House seat while embroiled in multiple controversies but let’s face it, Omar’s unrepentant anti-Semitism has brought shame upon the city.
The Star Tribune’s editorial board reacted to the new revelations with a blistering piece that pointed out her sinking credibility, not a good omen for her future political hopes and a sign that Rep. Omar may quickly be becoming too toxic now that the novelty of being a groundbreaker as a Somali-refugee who found success in her new country; even though her rhetoric seems to indicate that she hates America.
Ilhan Omar's 'credibility' questioned by hometown newspaper in stinging editorial https://t.co/mFphTyy55p
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 13, 2019
Via The Star Tribune, “Ilhan Omar’s credibility takes another hit”:
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is back in the news again, and not in a good way. The former state representative who won a seat in Congress last fall continues to be dogged by past missteps, this time eight violations of Minnesota campaign-finance law that will cost her nearly $3,500 in reimbursements and civil penalties.
So complex were the allegations that the state Campaign Finance Board spent nearly a year assessing the case, deposing staff people and former staff people, along with Omar herself. The investigation was broadened in October — just a month before her election to Congress — to look more deeply into the allegations. Board Executive Director Jeff Sigurdson said that between six and eight people were deposed separately.
In an October 2018 editorial, we called on Omar to more fully explain her travel and other expenses. We noted that the allegations “suggest a pattern of carelessness and/or self-dealing with legally restricted funds. Neither conclusion inspires the confidence voters deserve to have in someone they send to the U.S. House to represent them.”
It is even more disturbing, therefore, to learn that among the board’s latest findings was a troubling discovery that is far beyond its jurisdiction, but worthy of greater scrutiny nevertheless. Omar, for two years running, filed joint tax returns with a man she was living with but not legally married to. Complicating matters further, she was legally married to another man at the time.
It’s against the law in Minnesota to file jointly unless one filer is legally married to the other. Last year Omar told the Star Tribune that she had married her partner “in her faith,” and had earlier divorced her first husband “in her faith.” That’s fine for religious purposes. But for tax purposes, only civil marriages qualify. It’s not known whether she benefited materially by filing jointly. That is something that voters, who are obliged to follow tax laws no matter how painful, are entitled to know.
It’s not too much to expect that a lawmaker would check with a tax attorney on a rather complicated marital status before filing. And when questions arise, it’s a violation to use campaign funds to clear up those personal issues, as Omar apparently did.
The editorial board also brought up Omar’s inability to restrain herself over her hatred for Israel and contempt for Jews both of which have elicited shock and outrage and despite a slap on the wrist with a wet noodle by poor old Nancy Pelosi, Omar not only continues to sit on the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee but has not moderated her anti-Semitism.
More from the Star Tribune:
Omar’s political rise has been marred by a series of unforced errors, including intemperate remarks and tweets earlier this year that were widely perceived as anti-Semitic. Every month seems to bring a fresh problem.
As an elected representative for Minnesota and one of the first Muslim women and Somali refugees elected to Congress, Omar is helping to break new ground. But more is expected of her than the symbolism attached to her victory. Omar has a special obligation to be worthy of the trust so many have placed in her, including many still-new Americans who expect better.
It would seem that she has continually betrayed that trust and let’s face it, symbolic victories only go so far and Omar wasn’t elected for any history of significant accomplishments during her short tenure in the state House Of Representatives.
Worse for Omar, the paper also launched a shot across her bow that “If this pattern continues, further investigation may be necessary” which could fuel a primary challenger.
Not a good year for Pelosi’s freshman women posse of Omar, Rashida Tlaib and AOC who are all quickly proving that they have no business in government.
