A September 1 story by Andrew Kerr in the Washington Free Beacon that Rep. Ilhan Omar disclosed that she may have assets as high as $30 million apparently struck a nerve. The Minnesota Congresswoman has responded by posting an Instagram video in which she makes a short statement against the backdrop of a blown-up image of her congressional disclosure form.
Omar suggests that Kerr misinterpreted the form, and states “Learn to read before you post misleading sh–t.” But it appears that it is Omar who does not understand the form.
In the video, Omar seems to confuse assets with income. Perhaps she does not know the difference. She says, “Another day, another lying headline about millions of dollars that apparently I have.”
“If you look at the asset for $1 million to $5 million, the income is $5 to $15,000. And if you look at the asset for $5 million to $25 million, it says none right there.”
In a caption to the video, Omar states, “The value range listed for the assets reflects the *full* (sic) assessment of the businesses, in which my husband is one of several partners, and does not reflect his individual share.”
Again, Omar is confused about the disclosure form. She and her husband are required to report, within broad ranges, the value of their shares in any businesses, not the total value of the business.
Under Omar’s interpretation, the disclosure form would be meaningless. For example, if a member of Congress owns a share of Nvidia stock, he or she would be required to report the company’s market capitalization of $4 trillion.
From a follow-up article by Kerr today:
Omar’s rebuttal calls into question the validity of her 2024 disclosure statement, said Paul Kamenar, an attorney for the ethics watchdog National Legal and Policy Center.
“She must amend her report to comply with the House instructions to show only the value of her husband’s ownership share, otherwise allegations of her wealth are correct,” Kamenar told the Free Beacon.
