The Federal Election Commission has received a complaint accusing Rep. Ilhan Omar’s primary opponent of failing to disclose some of his donors.
The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the Democratic Party, claimed that Omar’s primary opponent Antone Melton-Meaux was “conspiring to intentionally obscure” who had donated to his campaign and alleged he had been paying vendors off-the-books.
Melton-Meaux said the FEC complaint is a “desperate” attempt to muddy his campaign after he raked in seven times as much in donations as Omar.
“Today the DFL announced that they’re filing an FEC complaint against my campaign. This is a frivolous and baseless claim. And this is a continuation of more divisiveness and distraction from my opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is clearly desperate,” Melton-Meaux said.
“Scott Thomas, a former FEC commissioner and four-time chair of the FEC, who reviewed numerous complaints during his 30-year career with the FEC said, ‘The complaint by the DFL would be rejected by the FEC because it lacks merit,'” he added.
Melton-Meaux said it was “chilling and dangerous to the democratic process” for the DFL to file such complaints against primary challengers.
Omar has had her own experience in violating campaign finance laws. She was fined $500 by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board for misusing campaign funds while serving in the state House.
Omar and Melton-Meaux are set to face off in their primary on Tuesday.
