U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar from Minnesota is about to find out the results of the investigation into the allegations against her. Omar is being accused of violating spending laws for campaigns during her time as a lawmaker for her state. These allegations include using campaign money to pay for a divorce attorney and her personal travel.
The conclusion of the investigation is just one part of the controversy surrounding Omar, who has consistently faced criticism from her peers and voters for her comments about Israel and U.S. foreign policy that were considered anti-Semitic.
According to Sinclair, in the state case against Omar, state Rep. Steve Drazkowski from Minnesota made allegations against Omar that claimed Omar spent approximately $6,000 of her campaign money to pay for her divorce lawyer and her travels to Estonia and Boston.
The Campaign Finance Board from Minnesota was alerted once Omar, who was a representative for the state between 2017 and 2019, was made to repay $2,500 that she accepted for making speeches and attending higher education institutions that were funded by the government.
Omar’s repayment comes from another complaint that was filed by Drazkowski. The conclusion of the investigation is expected in the next month.
“I had observed a long pattern. Representative Omar hasn’t followed the law. She’s repeatedly trampled on the laws of the state in a variety of areas, and gotten by with it,” said Drazkowski.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Omar, who a 37-year-old immigrant from Somalia, came to the United States with her family in 1995. She has previously denied all of the allegations against her, insisting that the payment she made to the attorney who resolved her divorce, Carla Kjellberg, was compensation for providing services for crisis management while she was running for the Minnesota state House.
Ever since Omar joined the house in January she has been surrounded by controversy. It all started when a tweet from 2012 resurfaced, in which Omar wrote: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
Then, in February, she accused Jewish politicians in the U.S. of being bought by the AIPAC, which is a non-partisan organization that focuses on healing the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.
Omar then added fuel to fire by saying that certain groups that supported Israel were pushing for Congress to have “allegiance to a foreign country,” continuing her anti-Semitic rhetoric.
