Democrat Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has been accused of possibly committing a felony by not properly reporting her income and assets in the financial disclosure reports she sent to the House of Representatives.
The accusations came from the conservative watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), which demanded that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) look into the reason Rep. Omar’s financial disclosures do not refer to the income she may have received from her memoir that she published in May 2020, The Daily Caller reported.
It also wants to know why, it believes, her new husband’s consulting firm was undervalued after it made around $3 million from Rep. Omar’s campaign from 2018 through 2020.
“Representative Omar’s apparent disclosure omissions and misreporting violate House ethics rules, the Ethics in Government act, and possibly 18 U.S.C. 1001, a felony with penalties up to five years in prison for making false statements in a matter before the legislative branch,” it said in its complaint. “There is clearly more than ‘reasonable cause to believe’ that disclosure violations may have occurred.”
In a message to the Daily Caller News Foundation a spokesperson for Rep. Omar accused NPLC of being a “far-right group.”
“The NPLC a [sic] far-right group with ties to the Trump campaign known for filing specious claims, including trying to challenge the constitutionality of the Mueller investigation,” spokesman Jeremy Slevin said. “We see this complaint for what it is: a completely political document, and not one with legal validity.”
The DCNF first reported on Aug. 17 that Omar did not report in her 2020 financial disclosure any income or royalties she may have received from her memoir, “This Is What America Looks Like,” which was first released in May 2020. Forbes reported in January 2019 that the lawmaker signed a deal for the memoir worth between $100,000 and $250,000
Lawmakers are required to report any income sources over $200 in their financial disclosures, the NLPC noted in its complaint.about:blank
Omar’s 2019 and 2018 financial disclosures also contained no reference to her book or any advance she may have received from it.
Slevin told the DCNF on Aug. 17 that Omar “has been in full compliance with House Ethics rules. She has reported everything that needed to be reported on the financial disclosure form accurately.”
But this is not the only time Rep. Omar has faced controversy. In June Rep. Omar made comments that many believed to be anti-Semitic.
During an interview on CNN, Omar told host Jake Tapper that she did not regret comparing the U.S. and Israel to terrorist organizations.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
OMAR: “If you are in someone’s backyard, can you say you are defending yourself?”
TAPPER: “It’s a good question. On the subject of the Middle East, you have said, as you know, many of your fellow House Democrats after comments you made earlier this month about the U.S. and Israel, you were questioning Secretary of State Blinken about where victims of war crimes could get justice. You made comments to him and also you tweeted: ‘We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.’ Ultimately, Democratic leaders said that equating the U.S. and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban ‘foments prejudice.’ And as you know, a group of Jewish House Democrats wrote a letter to President Biden saying that accusing Israel of acts of terror, as you and other members of the Squad have done, is anti-Semitic. Do you regret these comments?”
OMAR: “I don’t.”
Later in the segment, Tapper asked:
In 2019, you said lawmakers support Israel because it’s ‘all about the Benjamins,’ which implies that politicians only support Israel because of money. There was a tweet from 2012 when you said Israel had hypnotized the world. Do you understand why some of your fellow House Democrats, especially Jews, find that language anti-Semitic?
Omar responded by attacking her own colleagues and didn’t accept any responsibility for her comments.
“I have welcomed anytime my colleagues have asked to have a conversation to learn from them, for them to learn from me,” Omar said.
“I think it’s really important for these members to realize that they haven’t been partners in justice. They haven’t been equally engaging in seeking justice around the world and I think I will continue to do that,” she added.
Did you see this? China wants your family, too
Omar declared: “It is important for me as someone who knows what it feels like to experience injustice in ways that many of my colleagues don’t, to be a voice in finding accountability, asking for mechanisms for justice for those who are maligned, oppressed and who have had injustice done to them.”
h/t: Conservative Brief
That’s interesting. I’m all for having representatives of us (the government) publicly report other income for constituent perusal. They do have a right to make a living outside government service but not in a manner that suggests enurement.
Failure to report a hefty book contract is unusual if you ask me. If I were an elected representative and wrote a book that was a good read, I’d be bragging about it and duly reporting the income to the proper authorities I serve under.
Some politicians are wealthy due to their business pursuits and want to serve for the greater good. I’m not against that as long as they are not going to pursue government contracts that will sweeten their till.
Kurt
How did she even get into the government? Wake up Americans!
So What? She lied 2 get in2 country broke marital laws. ( including those of her own religion) Nothing will B done, so why write this article? It’s just a space filler.