{"id":1405123,"date":"2026-02-06T13:50:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1405123&preview=true&preview_id=1405123"},"modified":"2026-02-06T14:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:00:12","slug":"republican-scrutinizes-omar-husband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/republican-scrutinizes-omar-husband\/","title":{"rendered":"In unusual move, Republican chairman scrutinizes companies tied to husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar"},"content":{"rendered":"

By STEPHEN GROVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Friday requested records related to firms partially owned by the husband of Minnesota Democratic Rep.\u00a0Ilhan Omar<\/a>, taking the extraordinary step of scrutinizing the spouse of a sitting House member.<\/p>\n

Rep.\u00a0James Comer<\/a>, a Kentucky Republican, released a letter to Timothy Mynett, a former Democratic political consultant who is married to Omar, requesting records related to a pair of companies that had a substantial jump in value between 2023 and 2024, according to financial disclosures filed by the congresswoman.<\/p>\n

Comer’s request marked a highly unusual move by the chair of a committee with a history of taking on politically-charged investigations, but almost always focused on government officials outside of Congress. The House Ethics Committee, which is comprised of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans and tries to stay away from political fights, typically handles allegations involving lawmakers and their family members.<\/p>\n

Yet since her 2018 election as one of the first Muslim women in the House, Omar has\u00a0received nearly-nonstop attacks<\/a>\u00a0from the right. She has dismissed allegations around her finances as \u201cmisleading” and based on conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Omar, Jackie Rogers, said in a statement that Comer\u2019s letter was \u201ca political stunt\u201d and part of a campaign \u201cmeant to fundraise, not real oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an attempt to orchestrate a smear campaign against the congresswoman, and it is disgusting that our tax dollars are being used to malign her,\u201d Rogers added.<\/p>\n

Comer has also displayed a willingness to push the traditional parameters of the Oversight panel. In a separate investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, he is\u00a0enforcing subpoenas for depositions<\/a>\u00a0from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, marking the first time a former president will be forced to appear before Congress.<\/p>\n

In the letter to Mynett on Friday, Comer said, \u201cThere are serious public concerns about how your businesses increased so dramatically in value only a year after reporting very limited assets.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Omar, but President Donald Trump also said last month that the Department of Justice is looking into her finances.<\/p>\n