MINNEAPOLIS — A Republican state lawmaker is calling for a Congressional ethics investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar's tax returns and other questions raised by conservative bloggers.
Rep. Steve Drazkowski doesn't have the power to make that happen, so he's asking Rep. Angie Craig to ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch a probe. He sent a letter to Rep. Craig and shared copies with the State Capitol press corps Tuesday.
"It's about an avenue for me to bring forward these questions and get it in front of the US House of Representatives," Rep. Drazkowski told reporters.
"I think we need to pursue justice and truth here."
When asked why he didn't take his request to a like-minded Republican member of Congress, Drazkowski said he picked Craig because his hometown of Mazeppa is in her 2nd Congressional District.
"I could ask Nancy Pelosi, but she doesn't represent me."
In a statement issued from her Washington office, Rep. Craig dismissed the idea outright.
"This letter is a political stunt. The people I talk to want me to focus on reducing the price of healthcare and prescription drugs, and that's exactly what I'm doing."
Omar's office didn't respond to questions about Drazkowski's letter, but in previous statements has said Rep. Omar and her family are in compliance with state and federal tax laws.
Omar's team has denounced the bloggers' allegations as conspiracy theories motivated by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment.
She has remained busy in Washington putting her clout and passion behind progressive ideas, including a student debt forgiveness plan she announced Monday with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
And in the 5th Congressional District no serious contenders have emerged to challenge Omar in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Drazkowski last year filed a formal complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board, and the investigation that ensued resulted in a $500 civil penalty against Omar.
The campaign board found that some of Omar's travel expenses and legal work charged to her 2016 campaign for statehouse were beyond the scope of allowable campaign expenditures.
Tax returns
The campaign board determined the legal expenses were for work straightening out joint tax returns for Omar and her husband Ahmed Hirsi in 2014 and 2015. That was red flag for some because Hirsi and Omar weren't legally married yet until 2018.
Drazkowski called that "probable cause tax fraud" and challenged journalists to dig harder on the story. He complimented the Minneapolis Star Tribune for doing an extended piece looking at theories of bloggers that have hounded Omar since she first ran for office in 2016.
In reality, errors on tax filings are normally treated as a civil matter and handled through civil penalties. There's no evidence the IRS or Minnesota Dept. of Revenue have even taken a second look at Omar's tax filing history.
Political expert David Schultz of Hamline University predicted Republicans will keep pounding away at Omar, in hopes of making her a political liability for fellow Democrats in swing districts. Schultz said he suspects that's why Drazkowski asked Angie Craig to get involved.
He cited GOP attack ads in 2018 showing photos of Democratic candidates posing with then-Rep. Keith Ellison, who was being pelted with abuse allegations from and ex-girlfriend at the time. Ellison prevailed in his run for attorney general, and the guilt-by-association strategy didn't seem to rub off on other DFL candidates.
When asked what his end game is, Drazkowski replied, "Well I think the end game is to find answers."
Omar marriage timeline
Ahmed Hirsi is currently Omar's husband, and he's the father of their three children. But, like many couples, Omar and Hirsi have a complicated marriage timeline.
She has described it as follows:
2002 - Omar and Hirsi married in their faith tradition
2008 - Omar and Hirsi separated
2009 - Omar legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi
2011 - Omar and Elmi separated, and she lost touch with him
2012 - Omar and Hirsi reconciled
2017 - Omar finalized her divorce from Elmi
2018 - Omar and Hirsi were legally married under Minnesota law