{"id":655776,"date":"2021-08-17T18:05:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T22:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=655776"},"modified":"2021-08-17T18:05:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T22:05:32","slug":"watchdogs-sound-alarm-as-ilhan-omar-continues-to-evade-financial-disclosure-of-reportedly-lucrative-book-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdogs-sound-alarm-as-ilhan-omar-continues-to-evade-financial-disclosure-of-reportedly-lucrative-book-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Watchdogs Sound Alarm As Ilhan Omar Continues To Evade Financial Disclosure Of Reportedly Lucrative Book Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatchdogs-sound-alarm-as-ilhan-omar-continues-to-evade-financial-disclosure-of-reportedly-lucrative-book-deal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=655776&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Ilhan-Omar-Nancy-Pelosi-scaled-e1629228400131.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Multiple watchdog groups say Rep. Ilhan Omar may have violated federal law for failing to mention any income received from her critically-acclaimed 2020 memoir in her latest financial disclosure.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Omar\u2019s memoir launched in May 2020 to rave reviews by the press and prominent Democratic lawmakers such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Omar reportedly signed a deal worth up to $250,000 for the book in early 2019, but her financial disclosures covering the 2018, 2019 and 2020 calendar years make no mention of the book or any book deal proceeds.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Omar may face criminal penalties related to intentionally omitting information from financial disclosures, one expert said.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Multiple watchdog groups said Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar may have violated federal law for failing to mention any income received from her critically-acclaimed 2020 memoir in her latest financial disclosure report filed on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Omar reportedly signed a deal worth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/rachelkramerbussel\/2019\/01\/16\/representative-ilhan-omar-signs-memoir-book-deal-will-cover-journey-from-refugee-to-congresswoman\/?sh=1b3d12755b8d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">up to $250,000<\/a> for her memoir, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07WSB4MDC\/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This Is What America Looks Like<\/a>,\u201d in January 2019, around the same time she was sworn into Congress. Omar\u2019s communications director <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jeremyslevin\/status\/1264375667631755264\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> the House Ethics committee approved the book deal, but the Democratic lawmaker\u2019s financial disclosures covering the calendar years <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2018\/10027377.pdf\">2018<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2018\/10027377.pdf\">2019<\/a> contain no mention of the book or any advance income received upon signing a deal.<\/p>\n<p>The book was published in May 2020 to rave reviews by the press and Omar\u2019s Democratic colleagues. The Atlantic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2021\/01\/10-best-political-books-black-women\/617630\/\">dubbed<\/a> it one of the best political books of the year, and numerous high profile Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, praised on the book.<\/p>\n<p>However, Omar made no reference to her book or any royalties in her latest <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2020\/10042970.pdf\">financial disclosure<\/a> filed Friday which covers the 2020 calendar year.<\/p>\n<p>Counsel for conservative watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center said Omar could be in violation of federal disclosure rules by omitting any reference to her book in her disclosures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears that she has violated the financial disclosure rules by not reporting the proceeds from her book deal, which she has to do because it\u2019s considered income,\u201d NLPC counsel Paul Kamenar told the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be looking into filing a complaint with the House Ethics Committee,\u201d Kamenar added.<\/p>\n<p>Omar\u2019s omission of any mention of her book deal in her 2018 and 2019 financial disclosures are the subject of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.factdc.org\/post\/fact-calls-for-oce-to-investigate-rep-ilhan-omar-for-violating-house-ethics-rules-and-fe\">another complaint<\/a> from a second watchdog group, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), which sought an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into whether the Democratic lawmaker failed to properly disclose assets in violation of federal law in September 2020.<\/p>\n<p>FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold reiterated the need for an investigation into Omar\u2019s financial disclosures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBook deals and publishing contracts are fraught with ethics concerns, primarily because they could be used to funnel money to a government official in order to gain influence,\u201d Arnold told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>She said lawmakers may face criminal penalties if they intentionally provide false information on financial disclosures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a Member fails to timely and accurately file a financial disclosure, the penalty can range from a fine for an inadvertent late filing to criminal penalties for an intentional false filing,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cThe financial disclosure reports are taken seriously because it is the only mechanism for citizens to determine whether a Member has a conflict of interest or is using their position or information obtained as a Member to profit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this case, her disclosure reports over the past three years do not include any information pertaining to the book, advance payments, or royalties collected from the deal,\u201d Arnold added. \u201cThe lack of information indicates this is a case where the Ethics Committee should investigate to determine whether the information should have been publicly disclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Omar\u2019s office did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The alleged issues surrounding Omar\u2019s book deal are just the latest in a string of financial scandals plaguing the lawmaker during her time in state and national politics.<\/p>\n<p>While serving as a Minnesota state representative, Omar improperly used funds from her campaign to fund out-of-state travel. The Minnesota Campaign Finance Board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/06\/07\/politics\/ilhan-omar-campaign-finance\/index.html\">fined<\/a> Omar $500 and ordered her to repay her state campaign $3,500 in June 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Two months later, in August 2019, the NLPC filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Omar illegally used funds from her federal campaign to fund her extramarital affair with then-married Democratic consultant Tim Mynett. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/08\/28\/ilhan-omar-campaign-funds-romantic-affair-complaint\/\">(RELATED: Ilhan Omar Illegally Diverted Campaign Funds To Pursue Romantic Affair, Complaint Alleges)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Both Omar and Mynett divorced their respective spouses in late 2019, and in March 2020, the pair <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/03\/12\/ilhan-omar-marries-third-time-tim-mynett-consultant\/?filter_by=popular&amp;vwo_powered=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> they were married.<\/p>\n<p>Omar continued to funnel campaign funds into Mynett\u2019s consulting firm after their marriage. Her campaign dealt just shy of $3 million to Mynett\u2019s company between February 2018 and November 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/campaign-expenditures\/vendor?cycle=2020&amp;vendor=E+Street+Group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">campaign finance records<\/a> show.<\/p>\n<p>Omar said a \u201ctop FEC campaign attorney\u201d cleared her campaign\u2019s business relationship with her husband\u2019s consulting firm, and she announced in November that her campaign cut ties with the firm to avoid the appearance of impropriety.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"11.4\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">My relationship with Tim began long after this work started.<\/p>\n<p>We consulted with a top FEC campaign attorney to ensure there were no possible legal issues with our relationship. We were told this is not uncommon and that no, there weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IlhanMN\/status\/1239736533835558912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2020<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Omar disclosed in her latest filing that her husband received between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in \u201cpartnership income\u201d from his firm in 2020. She reported the Mynett\u2019s holding in the company is worth no more than $1,000.<\/p>\n<p>FACT noted other potential issues in Omar\u2019s 2018 and 2019 financial disclosures in their September 2020 ethics <a href=\"https:\/\/65db7681-e755-4cff-abe7-1d9e373df4db.usrfiles.com\/ugd\/65db76_6e29f3eca0b64efead71ff5e060116f0.pdf\">complaint<\/a>. The watchdog group highlighted that Omar did not disclose possession of both checking and savings accounts, despite mentioning their existence in court records from December 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The FACT complaint also said Omar failed to disclose her Minnesota pension plan in her 2018 disclosure, as well as her positions with multiple nonprofit organizations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepresentative Omar\u2019s actions fall short of the ethical requirements expected of members of the House,\u201d FACT\u2019s complaint reads. \u201cTherefore, we respectfully request that the Office of Congressional Ethics investigate Representative Omar\u2019s potential violations of federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A number of Omar\u2019s colleagues in the House, including one of her fellow members of the so-called Squad of progressive Democrats, reported book advances and income in their financial disclosures over the past three years.<\/p>\n<p>Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw reported receiving a $125,000 book advance from Hachette Book Group in his <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2018\/10033620.pdf\">2018 financial disclosure<\/a> and another $125,000 book advance from Javelin in his <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2019\/10039603.pdf\">2019 disclosure<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/good-government-watchdog-zeroes-in-on-rep-ilhan-omars-book-deal\/\">reported<\/a> in his <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2019\/10038507.pdf\">2019 financial disclosure<\/a> that he received less than $2,700 in royalties from two of his books, both of which he labeled as approved by the Ethics Committee.<\/p>\n<p>Freshman Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2020\/10043384.pdf\">reported<\/a> on Friday receiving an advance valued between $50,001 and $100,000 for her upcoming book \u201cThe Cori Chronicles.\u201d Bush filed the advance as \u201creviewed and approved by House Committee on Ethics,\u201d as first reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/cori-bush-book-deal\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Multiple watchdog groups say Rep. Ilhan Omar may have violated federal law for failing to mention any income received from her critically-acclaimed 2020 memoir in her latest financial disclosure. Omar\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-655776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}