A day after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) officially filed for a divorce from her second husband, Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, the freshman congresswoman issued a statement blasting her “political opponents and the media” for having made the couple the “object of speculation and innuendo.”
“Ilhan and Ahmed have been the object of speculation and innuendo from political opponents and the media,” Omar’s attorney said in a statement on behalf of Omar and Hirsi. “This has taken a significant toll on Ilhan, Ahmed, and their three children.”
“As with all marriages, this is intensely personal and a difficult time for their family,” the statement continued. “Just like any other family navigating this kind of transition, Ilhan wishes to have their privacy respected for themselves and their children and will not be commenting any further.”
Omar’s divorce comes amid widespread speculation that she has been involved in an extramarital affair with Tim Mynett, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant who her congressional campaign had previously hired.
After Omar and Mynett were spotted holding hands and dining at a secluded California restaurant in March, reports began surfacing of the alleged affair. Mynett’s then-wife Beth filed for a divorce in August, contending that her husband had left her for the Minnesota lawmaker.
“Defendant met Rep. Omar while working for her,” the court record states. “Although devastated by the betrayal and deceit that preceded his abrupt declaration, Plaintiff told Defendant that she loved him, and was willing to fight for the marriage … Defendant, however, told her that was not an option for him.”
The court documents further state that Mynett moved out of the couple’s home the following day.
Omar, a Somali refugee, has also faced allegations of committing immigration fraud by marrying her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, in order to help him acquire a U.S. citizenship.
The Democratic congresswoman married Hirsi in a religious ceremony in 2002, but separated in 2008. She then legally married Elmi, a British citizen, only months later. Omar reportedly religiously divorced Elmi in 2011 and finally obtained a legal divorce in 2017 — Omar and Hirsi were legally married only one month later.
Minnesota campaign finance officials revealed in June that Omar and Hirsi jointly filed their taxes together in both 2014 and 2015, which is prohibited under federal law since she was legally married to Elmi at that time. Omar and Hirsi were allegedly still living together throughout the entirety of Omar’s marriage to Elmi.
Mynett, a national political strategist, met Omar in 2018 when his company, E. Street Group, was hired to work on her congressional campaign. Mynett and E. Street Group have received approximately $230,000 through her campaign for fundraising consulting, digital communications, internet advertising, and travel expenses, according to the New York Post.
Beth Mynett subsequently sought primary physical custody of the couple’s son over Mynett’s “extensive travel” with the congresswoman, which was reportedly not part of his job description.
“Defendant’s more recent travel and long work hours now appear to be more related to his affair with Rep. Omar than with his actual work commitments,” the divorce records state.