Man accused of carrying on affair with Rep. Omar says wife made up claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. (FOX 9) - The alleged love interest of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says his ex-wife made up allegations that he was involved in an affair with the Minnesota representative.
The alleged affair became public last week when the ex-wife of Washington D.C. political strategist Tim Mynett filed divorce papers. In a counterclaim filed Wednesday, Mynett says the allegations are false.
In the claim, Mynett denies telling his wife he was leaving her for Representative Omar, or that he was in love with her.
The document says Mynett “was routinely met by Ms. Mynett with threats of a public court filing if her unreasonable and often outrageous demands were not met."
Federal records show Omar's congressional campaign paid at least $21,000 over 10 weeks to cover travel expenses for Mynett's consulting group.
In a complaint made to the Federal Elections Commission, a conservative watchdog group claimed the donor money was used to carry out the affair.
Court documents say, “Mr. Mynett denies any allegation which characterizes his work related travel as being related to the furtherance of a relationship with Rep. Omar.”
A lawyer who represents Omar and Mynett's company E Street Group denied any wrongdoing and called the filing "a political ploy."
When asked by reporters during an event last Wednesday, Omar refused to answer the questions on the topic. When asked why she was "dodging" the questions, Omar replied, "Because they’re stupid questions."
Representative Omar is currently married to Ahmed Hirsi. But, according to a New York Post article, a “longtime friend of the told the Post that Hirsi is "poised to file for divorce" over affair allegations.
We reached out to Omar's office and her campaign for a response to that article. Both responded saying they do not comment on the congresswoman's personal life.